Rise Of The Enemy
by SnowLucario
Summary: I now present to you the third and final installment in the Wing And A Scare trilogy. HIGHLY recommended that you read the first two books first. You'll just have to read it to see what it's about. Book III in the Wing And A Scare trilogy.
1. Seventeen

**All right, guys, it's SnowLucario again. Now, it is time for the beginning of the third and final installment in the Wing And A Scare trilogy: Rise Of The Enemy!**

 **I'm hoping that we can garner more reviews on this one than on the last two. I'm not sure how many chapters it's going to be, but it's likely to be the shortest in the trilogy, so there is that. For much of the time I was writing this, I was also writing Four Seasons, and the now-deleted Underworld, and juggling two stories at once is difficult.**

 **Again, it is HIGHLY recommended you read the other two, Wing And A Scare and Attack Of The Anglars, first before going to this one. In order to understand much of it, you will need to read those two. There is plenty of exposition in this first chapter, but I still think you should read the actual events first. That is, in my opinion, the best way to read things so that you do not get spoiled beforehand. That's also the reason for the bare-bones summary. I don't want to spoil things for you guys that have just come across my profile and figure out how the third story begins.**

 **Before we begin, let me give you a warning. This story is decidedly darker than the others. You'll see what I mean.**

 **Also, Question & Answer is in play here, so:**

 _Question: What is your favorite color?_

 **In any case, let's get this thing going!**

* * *

Hello.

If you have not listened to the other two recordings, known as _Wing And A Scare_ and _Attack Of The Anglars,_ I would prefer you to listen to those first just so you get the full story. You may feel lost if you just listen to this one.

My name is Lucas Enfield. I'm seventeen years old, and I was a member of the Star Enfield team during the Second Lylat War. You might be wondering, how did I get to this point?

You see, when I lived in Swanville, Maine, I went out to a Christmas ball at school with my then-girlfriend, Willow Foster. We had a great time there, except for something that happened during our walk back.

Along the way back to her home, we were shot with tranquilizer darts and taken to the Grey Clouds Flight Academy. Once we were there, we learned that the Cornerian army needed our help to win their war against the Anglars. We weren't happy about it, but we became reluctant mercenaries against our will. That was just the way it worked.

There were a lot of cases there where our lives were at risk. At one point, the flight simulator, which had been tampered with by Wolf O'Donnell, had literally spun me into unconsciousness. On another occasion, I'd gotten caught in an avalanche and trapped under many feet of snow and ice. But nothing so crazy happened until another student arrived from Houston, Texas.

His name was Konstantin Brockenbough, and he instantly attracted a lot of attention by flipping off the Cornerian flag while singing a song he perceived as patriotic. Thus, when the Anglars came and attacked the school, and the staff needed a scapegoat to pin the blame on, Konstantin fell right into the firing line.

He hadn't done anything wrong, but he was still tried and sentenced to death by a 7-5 vote. We freed him from his cell in the middle of the night, which was a very big risk to take. Then, we'd gone traveling throughout the Lylat System, fighting enemies in various planets and space sectors, even staying in Fichina for a time.

Eventually, we managed to take Macbeth and Area 6, making it our war to lose. Indeed, we won the battle on Venom pretty handily, except for the fact that Andrew Oikonny, a member of the Star Wolf team, managed to inject me with an extremely powerful drug that mimicked the effects of the Imperius Curse from the Harry Potter books. As a result, I killed Jack Novsky, the weapons expert we had hired in Cartagena.

This had ultimately been one of the main factors in Willow Foster, my girlfriend at the time, breaking up with me.

Since then, I'd become vice president of Corneria and been diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness that had come as a result of the injection. I suppose that the third and final part of the story begins on June 12, 201Y.

* * *

The sunlight streaming into the room woke me up. At first, I was content to lie in bed for a while longer, since it was harder and harder to get out of bed every morning, but I remembered that today was a very special day. Just to confirm it, I looked over at my iPad charging on my bedside table.

 _7:25 AM. Wednesday, June 12._

Yes. It was my birthday today. I knew I didn't want to miss it, not a single bit of it that I hadn't missed already. Before my illness, I'd always been a morning person. Not anymore.

I got up and brushed my teeth, before looking at some of the photographs that adorned my dresser. They brought back memories, some of which I wanted to relive, some of which I didn't. However, I found that looking at pictures of what had happened previously was important in maintaining my sanity, so I did this pretty much every morning for the last two and a half months.

One picture that was standing on top of the dresser was of me and Cole, whom you might consider my best friend, or at least one of them. This picture had been taken on the Great Fox, while we were playing _Super Smash Bros. Brawl_ together. Each of us were clutching a GameCube controller in our hands, with wild expressions on our faces. There was no doubt that both of us were enjoying virtually beating the other person to a pulp, while caring about each other so much in real life. And, really, how could we _not_ care about each other? We'd been through so much together.

The next picture had been taken by Falco, once again on the Great Fox. This one was of Jack working on one of the Arwings. It was pretty depressing for me to look at now, given that I was Jack's killer. It might not have been my fault, but that didn't mean that I didn't have the right to feel just a little bit guilty about it.

Because I _did_ feel guilty, more than a little bit. More like a lot, but that's beside the point. If I was going to properly atone for what I had done wrongly, there was really no other option than to try to do as much good as possible. Now that I was vice president, that was my main goal. I just wanted to help the citizens of Corneria more than I already had by helping them win the war against the Anglar army.

And me. I was in a lot of them. Triumphantly striding down a runway. Getting medical supplies into the Great Fox. Lying unconscious in a hospital bed. I didn't ask to have those pictures removed, because Falco seemed to love them. Plus, I cared about Falco a lot now, now that I was living with him and Dr. Howler in my new apartment.

Most of them were pleasant memories, but some of them were not. Really, I was fine with that. All I cared about was that those times were behind us. As much as that was true, it would also be true to say that there were plenty of hard times still ahead of us.

My illness, you might ask? I was taking pills three times a day, at every meal, to control the illness. Their hope was to consolidate the bad blood (no pun intended) and take it out, which the medication was supposed to help with. If necessary, they were going to give me a blood transfusion right on the operating table, because the poison was a big deal. It had taken over so much of my blood that I'd likely die from the sheer amount taken out. That's why it had to be done as a surgical procedure.

The idea of it scared me, but not that much. I knew that Cornerian hospitals were world-class, and I would more than likely survive and recover quickly. That is, if I even made it to that point.

My life expectancy, if the treatment had not worked, was estimated at around three months. That was three months from my diagnosis at the end of March. This meant that, if the treatment wasn't working, I might not live to see July.

Every week, testing was done to see if the medication was helping at all. Each time I came in, I was hoping for some change. Some sign that it was working. But after two months of this, there didn't seem to have been any effect. It was starting to look like this might be my last birthday after all.

 _Well, let's make the most of today like I'm gonna die young,_ I thought.

In spite of this, I was still taking the medication, and suffering for it. The doctor who'd told me about all the side effects, Dr. Tuskland, formerly of Fichina, hadn't been kidding. On two occasions, Dr. Howler, my personal physician, had to hook me up to an IV because I was throwing up too much and unable to drink. My hair wasn't going to fall out, but I now slept for twelve hours a day, which pissed me off. If I wasn't going to live for too much longer, couldn't I have at least spent most of that time awake?

It was getting harder and harder to get out of bed every morning. Sometimes, Falco had to bring me breakfast in bed. Other times, my bones ached so much that it was difficult to walk. Today was one of my _good_ days, and I still felt like I'd just done several minutes of planks. That was how bad it was.

To make matters worse, we were constantly worried about a new threat. Even though the Anglars had been defeated, that didn't mean we had nothing to be afraid of. Andross, the main villain of Star Fox 64, had apparently risen, meaning that he would need to be taken care of. And we didn't know how we were going to do it.

Many people still didn't know this, because, if Andross truly had risen (Fox McCloud had told Falco, who had relayed the news to us), he wasn't using his fleet to its full potential. So far, there had been no bombings or shootings on major buildings, so the mad scientist was clearly keeping a low profile. Which I supposed I would do in the same situation, so good on you, Andross, for doing that.

In short, Andross rising seemed to be identical to Andross not rising. It had made no discernable difference, and I could only wonder how much longer that would last for.

Because, at _some_ point, Andross was going to show himself to the world, and all hell was going to break loose.

* * *

Breakfast could have been a very nice affair. Dr. Howler, who understood that I often didn't feel very hungry, had made strawberry pancakes for me. For those of you who don't know, strawberry pancakes are one of my favorite breakfasts.

Not only that, but Dr. Howler was also a very good cook, having kept us all well fed while on the Great Fox during the war. It really was a pretty good feeling, knowing that there was someone who cared about you other than your parents.

Particularly _my_ parents...

I'm going to reopen that can of worms. In case you haven't learned this yet, my parents basically sold me to the Grey Clouds Flight Academy, the school that had been our home for roughly seven weeks. It was a flight academy that had had a huge hangar, as well as various other facilities.

Unfortunately, it had had to be abandoned after the Anglars came and invaded, forcing us to flee. I still had a scar from that attack, which only gave me a small twinge of pain every so often. Poison straight from Venom didn't go away easily. The little yellow pills I took with breakfast every morning were a testament to that.

I ate as much of the pancakes as I could (about half of the stack of three), before I pushed aside my birthday breakfast. "I'm stuffed" I said, rubbing my stomach.

"That's okay" Dr. Howler said. "I'll put it in the fridge, you can have the rest tomorrow. Did you like the pancakes?"

"Yes, they were divine" her fiance, Falco, said.

Falco and Dr. Howler were engaged to be married four days from today. I hoped that I would live to see the wedding. If only this stupid medication was working...

"That's good to know, because I might make them again sometime. You know, being a housekeeper is something new for me, and it's something that I am quite liking".

Dr. Howler wasn't someone that you would never expect to want to become a housewife as well as being a doctor. She had that mother-hen personality, even though she was a Bengal tiger. Perhaps she saw all of us as her cubs, which was a little disturbing to think about, but whatever.

"And I'm going to invite your friends to dinner tonight. Here, so as not to...you know".

I knew exactly what she was talking about. These days, I rarely left the apartment due to my lack of energy. And the lack of energy was caused by the medicine that didn't seem to be working right now. We'd find out in three days if it was having any effect, but I wasn't optimistic. Each time it had happened previously, my hopes had gone up, only to come crashing down to earth.

"Cole, Ian, and Konstantin?" I said, making sure that those were the people she meant.

"Yes" she said. "Do you have any other people in mind? I'm perfectly willing to invite W-".

"Don't speak the name in front of me!" I hissed.

"Whoa...sorry, Lucas. It's just, I was wondering if she...you know...wanted to come".

"Dr. Howler, we haven't spoken in more than two months. What makes you think she wants to have dinner with us? _She_ was the one who broke up with me".

"She said she was sorry, Lucas" Falco said, reprimanding me. "She isn't inviting your ex to dinner. Right, Tigre?"

Dr. Howler looked up from her list of people to call. "Nope. I'm not going to invite her. It's Lucas's birthday, after all. It's his choice who to invite".

"Good" I said. I didn't need that on my birthday.

After that, I went back up to my room. I was supposed to be working on a new piece of legislation, but, as happened quite a lot, my thoughts were all scattered. This wasn't a side effect of the medication, it was just in my nature. After all, I _do_ have Asperger's, and sometimes I have obsessive interests over certain things.

I thought of my ex-girlfriend, Willow Foster. She'd been by my side for months as we'd travelled throughout the Lylat System, fighting on one planet after another, but after Andrew had injected me with an incredibly powerful drug that effectively made me his puppet, she'd ditched me, saying that she could never look at me the same way again.

What was she afraid of from me, anyway? Domestic violence, was she worried that I'd become abusive towards her?

Other possible worried of her were, I was afraid to admit, not as unfounded as that. She was worried that the drug was still in me somehow, and that was true; it was. It was slowly killing me, and now we were getting to the point where the end was near. I didn't have much time left.

Was there a possibility that she knew I was like a grenade? Much like Hazel in _The Fault In Our Stars?_ No, that made no sense, because I'd only been diagnosed _after_ she had broken up with me. She couldn't have known?

But we're talking about Willow Foster here. A girl who once snuck out of bed at the academy one night, and sat with me under the stars on multiple occasions. For obvious reasons, I now looked back on those moments and facepalmed.

For three days, I hadn't eaten, overwhelmed by grief and fear of what was going to happen now that I had a potentially terminal illness. I remembered Dr. Howler's threat, the only reason I had started eating again. And it had been _hard,_ because I had very little appetite these days.

In any case...back to my project. I'd been at the computer for two hours when I started to feel a little drowsy from staring at the screen. I'd highlighted the different parts of the law in different colors, but that didn't seem to be helping. In addition, I was feeling a little dizzy as well. Again, this was nothing new; this was one of the side effects of all the pills I was taking.

 _I'm in an underground laboratory. Ahead of me is a tall man, and I'm holding a gun. I REALLY want to shoot this man...but do I? Do I?_

 _Willow is pleading with me...she doesn't want me to do it. Is Jack...no, Jack's pleading too. That ape wants me to kill Jack, huh?_

 _...I remember this. I had to shoot him...I'm not going to shoot him...I'm NOT!_

* * *

I sat up. I realized that I'd just dozed off in front of the computer. This had been happening more and more frequently lately. Sometimes, Falco or Dr. Howler would come while I was asleep and tuck me into bed, which was kind of embarrassing. I didn't like to dwell on it, just because it was so humiliating.

Luckily, this was not one of those times. I simply sat up in my chair and continued working on the law I was writing, which related to taxes in Corneria. Much like in the system you have in the United States, the vice president of Corneria is also the president of the Senate. Due to the nature of Corneria City (divided into 37 districts, each with 3 representatives), there was no possibility of a tie. Instead, I simply acted as the senior Senator, presiding over everything. I was also given the ability to write legislation along with a smaller committee, which the rest of the Senate would vote on. Then, it went to the President for vetoing, except that there was no veto override here. The President always had the final say, no exceptions.

The current President was General Pepper. If something were to happen to him, I was going to become President. I, a seventeen-year-old boy, could be a heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the Lylat System!

I hadn't even bothered to ask them to make me ineligible for the Presidency due to my illness. If it were to get out that I was seriously ill, it would be an absolute shitshow in the streets. People would go wild, and probably a number of them would die. It was vital that order be maintained, especially if there was a strong possibility that Andross could be invading.

I reminded myself what was important right now, and I finished working on one segment on taxes. Then, I went down to lunch with Falco and Dr. Howler.

I spent the majority of the afternoon working on the law, then decided to play video games until my friends arrived for dinner. Ever since the breakup, and especially as my health had gotten worse and worse, I'd spent more and more time confined in my room, without much social interaction.

Sometimes, this was the way I liked it. Privacy meant that it was easier for me to do my job as Vice President, which was important. The country still needed to function.

Other times, like today, I was glad that my friends would be coming over.

* * *

At six in the evening, Dr. Howler went to get the door. After opening it (I was standing behind her), she revealed my friends, all standing behind it.

Cole McCallen was the farthest one to the left. His greasy black hair was, for a change, far more orderly and neat. This was not surprising, considering that he was now a Senator. He was about my age, only a few months younger, and kept saving my life. He was once a juvenile delinquent from Detroit. However, getting sent to the flight academy helped to make him a better person. Now, he _always_ toed the line, making him an ideal person for a government job. He lived several miles from me, so I only saw him during our weekly Senate meetings.

Ian Keller was in the middle. He was two and a half years older than me, with short blonde hair. He was a normal-to-above normal height and fairly skinny. His blue eyes looked very intelligent from behind his spectacles, but, much like with Cole, it was to be expected. He worked at a scientific lab, but he did this purely for fun due to the fact that the Cornerian government was providing for him. He had used to go by the alias of "Seventy-Four" and wear a gas mask everywhere he went, but he had dispensed with it now. He looked a lot more confident now that he had something to do. His job in the lab often kept him up during the beginning of the night, he was a busy guy, so I didn't see him too often.

Konstantin Brockenbough was on the far right. He was twenty years old, and he was the one who had, in effect, started the Star Enfield team, initially a coalition to rescue him from the underground prison cell. Now that he was pardoned and working in the military as a commander, I hardly ever got the chance to see him. Maybe once at a military banquet I'd been obligated to attend, but we had barely even acknowledged each other on that occasion. Even so, we remained on good terms, so I was not disappointed to see him here.

"Welcome, guys" I said casually, allowing them to step into the apartment.

"Wow, this place is _sweet!_ " Cole said.

"That's one of the perks of being the VP".

"We're ordering pizza" said Falco. "What type do you guys like?"

"Pepperoni with pineapple and no cheese" I said. I just really didn't like cheese that much, and it also had to do with the fact that it was a little rich for my tastes.

"Sausage and mushrooms!" Ian and Konstantin cried out at the same time.

"I guess...just pepperoni, then" Cole said.

"So that's three pizzas" Dr. Howler said, writing all of our orders down. She then went over to the phone to order the pizza, while we went up to my room.

I showed them around, each of my three friends letting out gasps of wonder when they saw all of my photographs. They thought it was pretty cool, which was definitely something I could agree with. I was proud of a lot of those pictures, because they showed another side of me to the boy who was terminally ill. It showed someone who had taken a lot of hits, but was also kind of a badass.

"Have you talked to Willow lately, Lucas?" Cole asked me.

Of the three of them, Cole was the only one who did not yet know of my breakup. Ian and Konstantin had both been made aware of it.

"We broke up" I said, trying not to betray too much emotion. Even though Cole was my friend, I didn't want him to see how much it had affected me.

"Oh" he said. "Sorry".

"No problem", I said, "she was a jerk anyways".

We went up to my room and began playing Mario Kart until Dr. Howler came up and told us that the food was here. After she paid the delivery person, we sat down to eat.

* * *

The pizza I had requested was, much like everything else edible in Corneria, extremely delicious. Before I knew it, I was on my third slice, more than I could usually have eaten in my current state.

"So, how have things been going in the Senate?" I asked Cole.

"It's pretty boring, Lucas" he said. "I'm not that big a fan of politics, and it's just nothing but politics, politics, _politics_ all the time. Sometimes, I feel like I should just resign my position, but I know I can't".

"They can't stop you" Konstantin said, which surprised me. I knew that resigning from the Senate was against the rules, and I would not think that Konstantin, now a military commander, would encourage one to break rules.

"Sure they can" Cole replied. "I've asked if there'd be any way for me to leave willingly, but apparently it's impossible".

"A few months ago", I said, tearing off a bit of pizza with my teeth, "they said defeating the Anglars was impossible. Look where we are now".

"True, true".

Dr. Howler interrupted our conversation. "Lucas, we're going to have you open some presents once we're done with the pizza. And I'd recommend that all of you save room for dessert" she said with a smile.

I had a feeling I knew what dessert was going to be.

Within a few minutes, everyone had eaten as much of the pizza as they had wanted, so each of them brought out their presents for me.

"There's one from each of us" Konstantin said, placing his on the table. Ian's parcel was by far the largest, while Cole's was far smaller and Konstantin's was somewhere in between. I had a feeling what Ian's might have been, but I wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

I decided to open Cole's first. I tore away a little bit of the wrapping paper at first, then decided to go all for it.

"What does it say?" Cole said.

"It's a video game! _Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 4DS..._ Cole, you're too awesome, you know that?"

"I know" he said, smirking. Just like the old Cole.

"Do you want to open Ian's or Konstantin's next?" Falco asked me.

"Let's go with Ian's, do this in alphabetical order" I said, chuckling.

I felt just how heavy Ian's present was. It was probably something scientific, and I wasn't really into science. But, judging by the sheer weight of the object, it was likely to be something extremely expensive. I would not disrespect whatever he had gotten me.

As soon as I had opened the present, I was greeted with the sight of what looked like a low-tech microscope. They probably had things far more powerful in the labs, but Ian had no doubt wanted to save a couple dollars. Which I was perfectly fine with.

I wondered: If he had known I was dying, would he have gotten this for me?

 _Don't think that way, Lucas. You don't need to doubt your friends, too. Isn't there enough stress in your life already?_

That was fair. I thanked Ian for the microscope.

"It's no problem, buddy" he said.

That left Konstantin's present. After I tore open the wrapping paper, I looked at the title of the book he had given me.

" _Offense And Defense: A Beginner's Guide To Studying Military Strategy_. Konstantin, this is fantastic!"

"I'm sorry" he said. "I've got two versions, and I gave you the one that was in slightly worse condition".

The one he had given me would probably have qualified for "Very Good" or "Like New" on Amazon, so it was saying something when he claimed that he had one better than this. I didn't see what he thought I should be complaining about.

"Really, Konstantin, thank you" I said to him.

He nodded, and then Dr. Howler told me to move the presents aside, which I did so, as she set my birthday cake on the table.

It was yellow, with white frosting. Written on it in pink frosting was, _HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY, LUCAS!_

"Guys, this is just...unreal. I can't thank you enough, Dr. Howler".

"It was no problem" she said. "Had you walked in while we were making it, that would have been less than ideal, but you were up in your room for most all of the day, so we managed to make it together without you noticing".

"We're becoming more of a team" Falco said. "Which is a good thing, given that we're engaged to be married four days from now. All three of you boys are going, right?"

"Yeah" Cole said.

"Of course I'm going!" Ian said.

"Sign me up, assuming that the military doesn't have any other obligations for me" Konstantin said.

"I'm sure that you can get them to let you take this one day off" I said. "I'm the VP now, so I could just tell them that Konstantin needs to attend this wedding".

"That'd probably fly with them" he said.

As we started in on the cake, I asked Konstantin how things were going on the war.

"Not too well. I know that nothing really has happened on Corneria, but that's not entirely good news. So far, all of the evidence we have gathered so far points to the conclusion that Andross is simply biding his time, and he's going to strike whenever he gains more strength. And, when that happens, we'll need to be ready so we can repel the attack".

"That's right" said Falco. "I've heard just as much from Fox. Literally a week or so after we got back, I got a call from him that told us that Andross had risen. But I don't know anything about what's happened since".

"People are terrified" Konstantin said. "And why shouldn't they be? Andross caused so much devastation the first time, before he was exiled to Venom. Right now, he's probably planning something far worse. Just being a brain for eleven years can't be fun".

"You can say that again" Dr. Howler said.

I looked at Konstantin. He'd been slightly overweight before arriving at the Grey Clouds Flight Academy. He'd lost that weight in the cell, but later put it back on.

I'd predicted he would lose the weight as a result of his military training. On the contrary, he was bigger if anything. But there was definitely a difference. He looked a lot less flabby, more muscular. He looked _healthy,_ in a way that I had never seen him look before.

He didn't look _happy,_ though. The job had clearly put some stress on him that had been fairly unwelcome.

"Are you enjoying your job, Konstantin?" the Bengal tiger asked him.

Konstantin nodded. "Now that I'm twenty, I can actually do my job. There's always more military strategy to learn, and James Mattis has definitely been an inspiration for me. He's always said that it's important to train your mind as well as your body, and I can see that this is more and more true the more I learn about being a commander".

"That's also something I think is important. I wish that Slippy wasn't the only teacher of a really _mental_ subject at the Grey Clouds Flight Academy" Falco replied. "It would be nice to give students a way to train their brains as well as their guns".

"I've got that covered" Konstantin said. "I've got plenty of military strategy books that you could borrow. Do you want one?"

"I'm good, thanks" I said with a mouth full of cake. It was one of the best slices of cake I had ever eaten.

"Lucas can't speak for all of us" Ian said. "Can I?"

"Sure. Here's _The Art Of War,_ by Sun Tzu. _Monopoly Of Force,_ by Mattis. I'd like to hear how it's going at the lab".

Ian began by talking about how he was working on helping develop weapons for the Cornerian army. I was a little interested in it, but not too much. After all, there were other important things. At the same time, however, it was vital to know what weapons of war the Lylat System had to defend against an attack from Andross.

"And since weaponry is definitely something I am very much into, I am enjoying my job quite a lot".

"That's good to hear" Cole said.

"Yeah" Ian said.

We lingered over the meal for a while, until Dr. Howler said that it was time for them to go home so that I could get some rest. She didn't tell them _why_ she was on my case about this so much. If she had been straight with them, they would likely have become quite worried, and that was not something that we wanted.

"Good bye, Lucas!" Konstantin said.

"Bye, guys" I replied, closing the door behind my three friends.

After getting ready for bed, it was not hard for me to get to sleep with a stomach full of four slices of pizza and two slices of cake. Gratefully, I had no dreams.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the non-cliffhanger. I was going to end it on a semi-cliffhanger, but I realized that there was no good way to do it. It's also worth noting that this is my longest chapter to be the first chapter in one of my stories. I hope that you enjoyed it.**

 **I do have a sad announcement for you guys, though, and it is this:**

 _I'm a busy guy. Especially with this site. It's my sophomore year, so a lot more counts this year than it did last year or the year before that. That would have been a better time to get into this. I'm sorry about all of this, but I am going to be abandoning this story, as well as all of the others. I also intend to delete my account, just so that I don't feel tempted to._

 _It breaks my heart to do this. However, one reason for this is because I have gotten a lower-than-expected amount of reviews. I wish that I had more than two regulars on this, and I really don't want to delete my account. But, like I said, my grades have been slipping with me writing for 3 hours a day, and I just can't continue on this path if I want to remain in all-Honors classes next year. So that is what I am going to do._

 _To all of those who HAVE taken me the less than a minute it takes to write a review, thank you. I wish that there were more people who were like that._

 _Good bye, my fans,_

 _SnowLucario._


	2. Victor

**In case you couldn't tell, the note about quitting was an April Fools' joke, even though it was on the evening before. I just couldn't wait. I'm not quitting this site anytime soon. How can I, when I have this story, and Four Seasons as well? This is what makes my life worth living! And, besides, I'm nearly done with this fic.**

 **Here is the second chapter. It will introduce another OC submitted by Zaravan (yes, the same person who gave me Konstantin). It's another emotional chapter, not like I'm planning to have a single one that isn't in this third and final installment.**

 **In any case, the question:**

 _Answer: I like a lot of colors, including Crimson, Shamrock, Blue Diamond, and Outrageous Orange. It's really hard to narrow it down._

 _Question: What is your favorite song that sounds happy but is actually sad?_

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Star Fox, I would be richer than our president. Okay, maybe not. But you get the idea.**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

After my birthday, I slept through the night easily. The next morning, however, I was far more apprehensive.

The main reason for this was because I was going to have another check-up, to see if my medication was doing any good. I didn't see any reason to think it had, just because it had shown no benefits so far. Then again, who knew? Maybe there was a chance that I could beat this thing.

Dr. Howler rode with me in a taxi to the hospital. Most people on Corneria were not aware of my illness, but the cabbie could probably tell that there was something different about me. I had gotten paler and thinner in the last few months, and I figured that it might be obvious that something was up. Certainly, he could tell that all was not well with Lucas Enfield.

We went to the hematology lab once again, where the blood test was done. It was a slightly more complicated test than a normal blood test, and this is how it worked:

Blood was taken from my shoulder area. Apparently, there was one specific component of my blood that was infected, and their worry was that this blood was going to be spread out too thin, literally poisoning me from the inside. In order to prevent this, they were getting the infected blood all clumped up in a certain area, which was my shoulder, which was the goal of the medication.

After the blood was taken, a machine separated it and did an X-ray of my body. Then, the blood was returned to my body through an IV line.

It was pretty cool technology, I had to admit.

I'd sat the test nine times before this, and there had been no positive effects of the medication. All it had seemed to be doing, up until this point, was make me sicker.

Once they had gotten the test done, with my blood being X-rayed and put back in my body, they had me wait back in the room with Dr. Howler until the results came back.

"I'm really nervous, now" I said. "This might be our last chance to get it to work. If it doesn't, I could be done for".

"Don't think like that, Lucas" she said. "Try to think _positively._ We don't know yet, but I think that if you were in your last few weeks, you would start deteriorating rapidly. I don't see that happening, do you?"

"No" I said, truthfully.

Dr. Tuskland, the elephant doctor from Fichina who was in charge of my treatment, having also helped me recover from my laser wound, came in. "I would like to tell you about the results of the test".

The two of us walked in after her, hoping for the best.

* * *

"There is good news and bad news" the elephant said.

Instantly, I perked up. I didn't care how bad the bad news was, I was just craving some good news after the last few months.

"There is some evidence, Lucas, that the treatment is beginning to work. The infected blood seems to be moving closer and closer to where we need it to, which is definitely a good thing. If everything goes to plan, you should be ready for surgery within a month or two. However...".

"What is it?" I asked. "I want to know if something is wrong".

"There is _also_ some evidence that the medication Lucas is taking may begin to stop working after a time. If that is the case, we will need to find new ones, which might have some worse side effects. But at this point, I say that we just go for it".

"What other medications?" Dr. Howler asked.

Dr. Tuskland told the Bengal tiger names of medications that I couldn't pronounce myself, let alone begin to think about how they were spelled.

"They _might_ have to be given intravenously, just because it's so hard to keep them down" she said.

I didn't like that thought. I wasn't particularly afraid of needles, but I was kind of getting sick of them. But worse than that was the _reason_ I might need them to be given through an IV.

If they would cause vomiting, that was _another_ thing I was getting kind of sick of. Throwing up is just not a good feeling, and I don't think that there ever needs to be any debate over that.

I was seriously worried about this. All of it. I'd always known there was a chance that I might not survive, but this chance now seemed to be looming large over me. Was there any way I could escape it?

"I _will_ fight" I said out loud, putting a hand to my chest. "I'm going to fight until the bitter end, because I will _not_ let that asshole Oikonny win!"

"That's the spirit, Lucas" Dr. Tuskland said.

"Are we going to stay the course, in terms of medications?" Dr. Howler asked.

"I think that is a good idea to do, at least for now. If Lucas gets any symptoms of rejection, high fever, constant vomiting, shortness of breath, he should come see us immediately. Then, we're going to see about putting him on any different medications. But this is a serious point that we're at, Tigre, make no mistake".

Now, I knew that we were going to have to be on the lookout for all of those symptoms. If they came, I knew that another hospital visit was in my near future.

* * *

When we got back to my apartment, I did not go back up to my room like usual. I had decided that if I was really in my last weeks alive, I might as well enjoy myself and be with some other people.

I chose to help Falco and Dr. Howler prepare for their wedding. Because they were now super-famous and all, they had decided to just hold the ceremony in the apartment, and invite a Cornerian secular priest to bless their marriage. I could understand why, since nobody in Corneria was really that religious. As for holding it in the apartment, it was clear that the reason for that was because they didn't want all the extra publicity.

When you're the legal guardians of the seventeen-year-old Vice President, it's probably best to lie low. I got that.

One thing that the general public was still not aware of was of course my illness. If they found out, there would no doubt be plenty of riots. But would that start even more efforts against Andross? I wasn't sure.

I helped Dr. Howler cook. "How are you doing, Lucas? Did you like the good news?" she asked me.

I frowned. "You know that it's not entirely good news, Doc. My body might be rejecting the medication soon. If we have to find new ones, I don't know how I'd cope with it".

"You're a strong boy, Lucas. You could do it, didn't you just say that?"

"I guess I did".

For the wedding, we were inviting the same people we had invited to my birthday dinner: Cole McCallen, Ian Keller, and Konstantin Brockenbough. Falco had also invited Peppy Hare, Fox McCloud, and Slippy Toad, his former teammates from the First Lylat War.

Even though Fox was a very busy man, he had managed to find time. Slippy was also going. Peppy, on the other hand, said that he was too busy to attend due to his job.

General Pepper might have gone, Falco told me as we were setting up a banner in the entry way of the apartment, but he was too ill. Just a little bit of flu, he told me, but I was worried about that.

I was the Vice President. If something were to happen to General Pepper, the incumbent president, _I_ was next in line. I wasn't sure that I was ready to be President, but that was what was going to happen.

I could only hope that General Pepper was going to have a nice, speedy recovery. He was really getting on in years, though, so that was not a sure bet.

Then, I looked over at the phone. There was one person that I would like to tell, one person who might deserve to know what was going on.

I picked up the cell phone and dialed the number that had been assigned to Konstantin Brockenbough.

* * *

 **KONSTANTIN'S POV**

I knew that I had to stay in shape as a commander. It wasn't easy at first, and my arms had burned after even three or four push-ups. It wasn't an easy number to build upon.

However, by Thursday, June 13, I had finally managed to reach the point where I could do twenty in a row, and not in any slow speed either. I was even beginning to _enjoy_ a bit. How masochistic is that?

Indeed, on this particular afternoon I was pushing myself to get to thirty. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I was trying as hard as I possibly could. Pumping my body up and down using my arms, I heard what sounded like a phone ringing in the background.

I ignored it at first, continuing to use the linoleum floor as a workout mat. I was working out in my own apartment, just because I didn't feel like going all the way to the gym to work on my exercising. I also didn't feel like answering the phone in the middle of my workout session, although what it said next was what changed my mind.

" _Call from, ENFIELD, LUCAS"_ said the phone.

I got out of my push-up pose and walked over to the phone, picking it up just in time.

"Hello" I said. "Is this Lucas?"

"Do you mean Lucas Enfield? Because, if that's the case, you've got him right here".

"That's good. If you don't mind me asking, why are you calling me right now? I'm in the middle of working out. No offense, but you'd better have a pretty good reason".

On the other end of the line, the voice that I knew was Lucas paused. I was almost considering hanging up before he responded.

"I think that this is a good reason. Obviously, or I wouldn't be calling you".

 _Of course he wouldn't._ "Well, why is it?"

"I'm ill, Konstantin. As in, chronically ill, with a 50-50 shot at survival. I might die within a month".

" _What?_ " I yelled through the phone, coming very close to dropping it.

"It's true" he said, clearly trying not to let his voice break.

"How did you get this illness?" I asked him, somehow feeling like I already knew the answer.

"Andrew's injection" he said. "The fact that it caused me to kill Jack was only a side effect, this is its main effect. I'm taking all sorts of medications to try to treat it, but I don't know how optimistic they are. Only a little bit of progress after more than two months".

I was completely blindsided. I hadn't had any idea that Lucas was ill, since he'd never told me. He _had_ looked a little pale, and a little more tired than usual, but I had assumed that was just because of his job. I was sure that being the vice president of Corneria was something that could create a lot of stress in one's life.

But Lucas, terminally ill? I wasn't sure if that was something I could ever have been expecting.

"You looked perfectly fine when I last saw you" I said.

"I know" he said. "Look, I can't talk for too much longer. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah" I said. "Are you going to call the others?"

"I don't know" he said. "I know one person I _won't_ call".

I had a feeling I knew exactly who that was.

After we hung up, I decided to spend the afternoon training my mind rather than my body. I pulled one of my Mattis books from off of the shelf and began to read. I found that reading was a good way to keep my mind off of the bad memories from the war, as well as the bad things that were likely to come in my future. It was depressing just to think about it.

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

I woke up in my apartment feeling distinctly unrested. I'd tossed and turned all night, mainly with everything that was going on with Andross rising, and how his ships were closing around the Cornerian army base of Katina.

Of course, as Secretary Of State, this was one of the things I had to be worried about. It was kind of my job.

My legs were aching a little today. I knew it wasn't the flu, because I'd had that before, and it felt _nothing_ like this. More likely, I was just tired from not having gotten as much sleep as I usually did.

For whatever reason, I was thinking of Lucas Enfield once again. It wasn't like I was missing him or anything, just... _dwelling_ on it. I was feeling guilty for breaking up with him, for the first time in two and a half months.

Without a doubt, I knew that it had been the right thing to do. No matter how hard I had tried, I'd been unable to look at Lucas, let alone _think_ about him, the same way again. I was worried that whatever Andrew Oikonny had injected him with was going to have more effects beyond just killing Jack when he was under what was essentially an Imperius Curse.

I really could see him becoming abusive, or even killing _me_ as well, after that. Even though I had no evidence that he would do so, I also didn't have any evidence that he would _not_ become abusive. And I decided to play it safe.

After all, people rarely stay married to their high-school sweethearts long-term. We'd only been together for a few months. I'd been foolish to think that it could _possibly_ last. So, as embarrassing as it might be to say that I was scared of him, it must be said that that was the truth. I _was_ terrified of Lucas Enfield.

Since Lucas was still the Vice President, rather than the actual President, I didn't actually have to meet with him. If I had to work with my ex-boyfriend, that would just have been too much for me. Can you _imagine_ how awkward that would be?

Right now, General Pepper was the incumbent President. I was really rooting for him to survive, because if he died, that would mean that Lucas would become President, and I would have to work with him once again. I wasn't ready for that. I still needed more time to heal.

I found myself praying, pleading with God, really wanting Him to make General Pepper survive.

 _Please, My Lord. I know that I don't go to church or mosque or anything, but_ please _let General Pepper live, at least until after Lucas Enfield decides to resign. Or, alternately, you could get Lucas to resign sooner. I don't wish for him to die or anything. I just know that General Pepper just can't die. Lucas is woefully unfit for the Presidency, or even the Vice Presidency._

I finished off my prayer with that, really hoping that it would be enough.

Of course, it might not be. I'd heard that General Pepper was very ill right now, with a bout of flu that had ended up resulting in viral pneumonia, to the point that he was barely able to drink water. All they could do was make sure that he took in a lot of fluids and was breathing normally, because if he died...I didn't even want to consider that horrible possibility.

And then I remembered: I had a meeting today in front of the Senate. I couldn't afford to miss it, because if I did, I might get behind of my national security briefings. If that happened, I would really be endangering the life and health of my citizens, because the Secretary Of State was not allowed to resign if there was not a big scandal. I wasn't sure why this was, but it meant that I was stuck here, since I didn't intend to start any major scandals.

Today, one of the senators I was going to be meeting with was Cole McCallen, another member of Star Enfield. Unlike Lucas, him and I had remained friends afterwards. We didn't talk too much outside of the meetings, but he saw me more often than he did Lucas. I was glad for that, because I would have been pretty jealous if he talked to Lucas more than me. I didn't know how I would have been able to bear it.

Of course, there was still one other thing that was a factor. Before Lucas had been shot, I had had the feeling that something bad was about to happen, and, lo and behold, it had. Was there a chance that this instinct, the feeling I had now, was correct once again?

If I voiced to anyone else, they'd probably dismiss me as just a crazy ex-girlfriend. However, I felt like there was actual weight behind my worry.

* * *

After a breakfast of coffee and a bagel, I realized just how much I'd been running off adrenaline, fueled by several cups of coffee a day and not that much food. Instead, my worry was enough to drive me.

It was hard not to break down and cry at the news that came our way during the briefings, during which I sat in the Senate room. The news was pretty depressing, and I had to do this almost every day.

I sat near Cole the whole time. Even though we officially considered ourselves friends, we barely talked to each other any more than necessary. The sight of him could bring back bad memories of the war, since he had also been a member of the team.

The person giving us the briefing, an assistant to General Pepper, told us that Andross's army had reached Katina, and was battling against our forces there. This worried me to no small degree, because Katina was an important base of the Cornerian army. If that was taken, we were screwed.

I thought back to the war against the Anglars, the Anglar Blitz. During that, we had been on the _offensive,_ being the ones whose job it was to take planets closer to Venom. Essentially, we had had nothing to lose.

This time, we had nothing to _gain,_ only to prevent Andross's army from reaching us. Everything was on the line.

At one point, I even had to put my head down to prevent myself from sobbing. After hearing the names of the 427 Cornerian soldiers who had died yesterday in combat, tears were welling up in my eyes.

And yet I didn't want to let it show. I was the Secretary Of State, after all; I couldn't show too much emotion, or else they would begin to question my fitness for the job. I was only sixteen, going to turn seventeen in August. Already my appointment had been controversial, but not nearly as much so as Lucas's.

When the meeting was over, I couldn't help myself. I burst into tears, and one of the guards came over to me.

"Secretary Of State Foster, all you all right?" he asked me.

I looked over at the person asking the question. He was tall and muscular, not someone you would expect to comfort a crying girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said. I couldn't give any other answer.

"Is this about your breakup?" he asked me.

 _How could he have known?_ Sure, there might have been rumors, but I didn't think that my breaking up with Lucas was all over the magazines.

"How did you know?" I asked him. In truth, it wasn't about Lucas Enfield at all, just all of the news from the warfront. But I had to let him think that, so that I had a better chance of keeping my job.

"It's everywhere, all over the news" he said.

He went into the pocket of his military uniform and pulled out a magazine dated from a little more than two months ago. The headline read, _They're Through!_

A little unconvinced, I decided to read a little deeper. It could have been some other Cornerian celebrity couple.

 _Lucas Enfield and Willow Foster, both 16, of the Star Enfield team, seem to have ended their relationship. Enfield is now the Vice President of our country, while Foster is the Secretary Of State. Should General Pepper, 70, the incumbent President, die or resign, Enfield would become President. In that case, Foster would need to work with her now ex-boyfriend once again, something that by all accounts she is unwilling to do. As General Pepper is currently in the hospital with severe viral pneumonia, that might happen sooner than she would like._

"I can't believe it!" I said. "The magazine reported all of this? Where did they get all of this information from?"

"I don't know, Secretary Foster" said the guard.

"No doubt this has already ruined my reputation" I said. "I'll need to do something about that, and fast, before the public loses all trust in me".

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

 _Aaahhhh..._

I rose out of bed, stretching my legs. It had been hard to get out of bed the first morning I'd been here. It was now day 32 of this, and it was getting no easier, as far as I could tell.

Of course, when you're on Venom, the toxic air really saps a lot of your energy. I could only continue serving my master for so long before I was going to not be able to continue. My alarm clock woke me up at the absolutely beautiful time of half past four in the morning, so it was already tough.

The reason I got up so early? It was because this was also the time that my master woke up, and he always demanded for me to get him his breakfast. I wondered, not for the first time, what I had gotten myself into. I'd done a lot of dangerous things, but it had not, at first, been my choice.

I picked up the phone, which was ringing. Since this was on Venom, one of the worst planets for cell service, the only person who could have been calling me would also be in these catacombs.

" _Call from, Andross_ " said the phone.

I went over to the phone.

"Good morning, Halsmith. For breakfast today, I request two slices of toast with bacon. I want this delivered to me within fifteen minutes, or else you will be punished".

"Yes, master" I said, as I went down to the kitchen to prepare the food.

I wasn't a bad cook. I'd definitely gained more practice, since I had been Andross's servant for the last two months, ever since he had regained a physical body. Even so, I wasn't perfect by any means. Luckily, my master was lenient at times, but he would become less lenient the longer I served him for.

Soon, I had toasted the bread and gotten the bacon all set up. The bread had to be dipped in a kind of "dipping sauce" that was naturally occurring from within the planet. Andross, in the kitchen that looked like the Indian chocolate palace from _Charlie And The Chocolate Factory_ , had set up a faucet that produced it when turned on.

I made my way, carrying the plate, into the throne room. Walking along the orange carpet (#EC6521, or Tahiti Gold), I deposited the plate right in front of the scientist.

Andross had been restored to his primate body once again, towering at a height of six feet, eight inches tall. He did not wear glasses, instead having enormous brown eyes that had very good vision. He could probably see every burn mark on the toast.

"Thank you, Halsmith" he said as he picked up one of the slices.

"You are welcome, master" I said. "I wish to discuss with you the latest news from the war".

"Go ahead" said Andross. "I much enjoy discussing it myself".

"Our army is around Katina right now, ready for battle. Actually, we are already in battle, and we appear to be winning. If we can take over the base on Katina, it won't be too hard to take Fichina as well. And if we have Fichina, that's when we can begin our assault on Corneria!"

"And play some chess?" Andross asked me. We were both very good at that game, and it was always an epic game to watch from the outside. Sometimes, members of Star Wolf would watch us play as well.

Not Wolf O'Donnell, however. He had been killed by Konstantin Brockenbough, and so we would never see him again. That was just the way it was, but I couldn't help hating Konstantin...or was I admiring him, as an enemy perhaps?

"We could do that later, master" I said.

"Is that pesky Star Enfield team still on Corneria? I know that Lucas Enfield is not doing too well, but there is still Ian, Cole, Konstantin, and Willow to worry about".

A voice from the hallway said, "Oh, Uncle Andross...the plan has worked perfectly!"

Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew, entered the room. He was wearing a big smile on his face.

"The drug I injected Lucas with completely destroyed his relationship with Willow. _And_ it's slowly killing him! This is going _great!_ " he said, cackling.

I wasn't too sure that I was a fan of Andrew. He was always far too cocky, but he also seemed very cowardly. I always figured that it was better to be closer to the middle of the road in terms of this.

In the two months I had spent working with Andross, it had been hard to hold in my contempt for anything that wasn't human. I certainly hadn't liked what had begun my journey into the Lylat System, but what had come after was far worse.

"You may go, Halsmith" my master said.

I walked out of the throne room, thinking more about Lucas Enfield. I pulled up my data sheet about him.

 **LUCAS ZANTRY ENFIELD.**

 **AGE: 17 YEARS, 3 DAYS (Born June 12, 200R)**

 **HEIGHT: 6'2"**

 **WEIGHT: 155 POUNDS**

 **EYE COLOR: BLUE**

 **HAIR COLOR: BROWN**

Apparently, Lucas had lost a great deal of weight in the last few months. I wasn't surprised, since his illness put a lot of strain on him. It wouldn't surprise me if he died within the next few weeks.

I thought back to how I had gotten into this situation. It wasn't a pleasant memory, but that was just what was going on.

* * *

 **This was a short chapter, and I apologize for it. The next chapter will contain a flashback of Victor's, so you will get to find out more about who he is and what his goals are.**


	3. The Wedding

**Welcome to Chapter 3 of Rise Of The Enemy! This features a flashback of Victor's. I apologize to Zaravan if this is not completely historically accurate, but this is my best attempt at that. I could've asked my grandmother about this, or my parents, who are both in their fifties. Instead, I'm using the Internet! And my own intuition. So sorry in advance if this turns out terribly wrong.**

 **It's also probably the shortest chapter yet of the story. But the next one will likely be the longest chapter yet, so I hope that makes up for it. I'm also sorry if the marriage ceremony isn't realistic. I have obviously never been married before.**

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

I was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 6, 199Z, but in order to truly understand my story, you need to go back a lot further. In fact, about a hundred and fifty years further.

Back in 1848, there had been a failed political revolution in Germany. My ancestors, in an effort to overthrow the dictator at the time, had been highly persecuted by the leadership. As a result, they had no choice but to flee, which was what they ended up doing.

They crossed by boat into America, and they had lived there, in the Boston area, for generations by the time I came along. By the time I was born in 199Z, the Halsmith family had set down plenty of roots in there. And we had become fairly well-known, accumulating enough wealth to live in Beacon Hill, one of the most blue-blood parts of the city.

By the time I was three years old, I could play chess at the level of a twelve-year-old, and by the age of twelve I was holding my own against grandmasters over the Internet. It seemed that I was _inhumanly_ good at chess. On the Internet, I was supremely proud of myself, with plenty of self-esteem.

Things were not quite as great in real life, however. I was a bit of a loner at school, considered a nerd. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a nerd. It's been said before, but you should respect nerds, because chances are you'll end up working for one. I had very long arms and legs, which also kind of set me apart from the other students. My physical appearance was not nearly as big a deal for the others as my behavior.

In spite of this, I got very good grades. As a result, I was accepted into Harvard with a scholarship for academics. Of course, we didn't need the money, but it was great for my family not to have to pay for my education. Once I got into the school, I continued to achieve top marks, and I actually did make some friends among my fellow nerds. Things were going pretty well for me, at least, until April 2, 201Y.

* * *

I'd never played any Star Fox games before, so I had no idea that such a world could _possibly_ exist in real life. In fact, I'd barely even heard of it among my circle of friends until that night.

"Good night, Patrick" I said to one of my friends from the role-playing club as I headed back to my dormitory.

Patrick said the same thing to me, and then each of us headed back to go to bed. Unfortunately, only one of us would actually end up getting back to our beds. You can probably guess which one that was.

No sooner had Patrick gotten out of my sight than I felt something hit the back of my leg. It felt kind of like an arrow, except that it didn't hurt that much, it just made me feel kind of drowsy. Before I could say anything, I felt my legs getting grabbed before I blacked out.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on a makeshift bed, attached to a heart monitor, with no idea how I'd gotten there. I was fairly sure that I wasn't at Harvard anymore, since I could hear the sound of engines that sounded like it was from an enormous helicopter.

"Hello, Victor Halsmith" said the voice of a magenta cat. She was _standing on her hind legs,_ with indigo eyes, looking gleeful for some reason.

I could barely nod, let alone speak. My head was hurting like a bitch, and it was all I could do to continue looking at the anthropomorphic cat.

"My name is Katt Monroe, and you are being taken to the Grey Clouds Flight Academy. It's been restored from before, and you will be useful to us".

" _Why?_ " I asked. "You're such a bitch, Monroe. There's just no way that I can take you seriously".

"That's a mistake, Halsmith" she said, with a toxic edge to her voice. "We know that you're smart, and it will take your brains to defeat Andross".

I had no idea what Andross was. And, if she said that it was my _brains_ that she needed, did that mean that they were zombies at this academy? Would _I_ learn how to be a zombie? That made no sense!

"I'm not helping you! You just flat-out kidnapped me!"

"Don't you want to keep your family safe, Halsmith? You do realize that this threat is not limited to the Lylat System. Once Andross has taken over Corneria, there is no reason to believe that he is not going to also set his sights on America. I fully expect that the place you call Boston is going to be one of Andross's labs soon".

Just then, I heard some kind of cannon that might have hit the chopper. Suddenly, we ended up going down and down. It made no sense at all, what was going on, unless we had just been shot by something else.

" _This_ wasn't supposed to happen" Katt said.

"What wasn't supposed to happen?" I asked. "I've read enough science fiction novels to know that they always plan out _everything_ to a T".

"Getting shot down. We don't know what's going on right now, probably some enemy ship".

"Is this that Andross guy you were just talking about?" I asked her.

"Maybe, maybe not" she said.

Just then, we hit the ground. Surprisingly, neither of us died on impact.

Instead, what looked like an anthropomorphic ape came walking into the room. He looked around, looking somewhat angry. It was as if he had a score to settle with one of us. Then, he pulled out a bow and arrow and pointed it at my leg.

Before I could say anything, I was shot in the leg by a tranquilizer arrow and blacked out for the second time in a day.

* * *

This time, my head did not hurt nearly as much. Neither was I in a good mood, however.

I found myself in what looked like a prison cell of some description. It wasn't a pleasant place to be, with the walls being rust-colored, and probably pretty rusty as well. I just hoped that there weren't any nails around here. If there were, I was going to be in big trouble, because I didn't see anywhere I could go where I might be able to get a tetanus shot.

The one who had shot me came back. This time, he wore a happier expression on his face.

"Halsmith, you've woken up!" he said. "Have I got an offer for you!"

"Not in the mood" I said groggily.

"Oh, let me just tell you that you are going to like it!" he said. "My name is Andrew Oikonny, and I would like you to work with Andross".

"You're kidding me, right?" I said to him.

"There's no way I'd be joking" Andrew said. "Not with something as important as this. We can't get you back to the human world, but this would be the next best thing".

 _The next best thing._

I bought it hook, line, and sinker. I figured that the people who had taken me were automatically the bad guys, and whoever they were working against were the good guys. One thing about me is that, even though I am smart, I do get tunnel vision on occasion. This was most definitely one of those times.

* * *

After accepting the offer, Andrew told me that Andross was his uncle, and then I was released from the cell.

At first, the tasks I was assigned to were generally mundane, everyday things. Cooking Andross's breakfast. Doing his laundry. Cleaning up the underground labs.

However, they began to get more and more important and even dangerous, as if he was trusting me more and more. Which he probably was, come to think of it. Instead of simply cleaning up the labs, I was able to assist in actual scientific research. This research was never for the benefit of Lylatians, of course. It was mainly to help develop bio-weapons to attack Corneria.

I would work for twelve hours a day, going to bed sweaty and exhausted, but it felt good to be doing something that stimulated my mind. At least I had something to distract me from the fact that I didn't have my clubs in college anymore, didn't have my studies, didn't have my family.

Andross and the rest of his army was my family now. That was the reality that I had to accept.

I was willing to accept this new reality more readily than you might think. For one, it wasn't like I had any other choice anymore. Plus, anything mental, of which I was having increased amounts of mental tasks, was something that interested me.

Despite this, I wasn't happy. I grew, over the course of those two months, to detest Andross more and more with each passing day. It wasn't just the way he treated his underlings besides me (Pigma Dengar was very often punished for disobedience), but I was beginning to see that my initial assessment of the Venomians as the good guys might have been more than a little mistaken.

And so, I began looking for opportunities to escape.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

It was now June 16. Four days had passed since my seventeenth birthday. And so, it was the day.

Today was the day that Falco and Dr. Howler were getting married. After dropping the news seemingly out of the blue after finding out that I had been chosen to be the Vice President, it was finally happening today.

I was taken to the dressing room of the apartment, something that I had barely known before. I was fitted with a tuxedo, something that I was typically not used to. Normally, I just wore casual clothes in the apartment, since there weren't that many people I had to see. But Falco had insisted that I wore a suit and tie, so here I was.

One of our servants that I had gained as a result of being chosen to be the VP had helped to fit me with that suit. After that, I went back out to greet the rest of the guests.

A yellow banner with the logo of the Star Fox (and later Star Enfield) team had been set up at the entry way of the apartment, and it read, "FALCO + TIGRE = LOVE FOREVER!" Dr. Howler was dressed in a white dress typical of a bride, except that it had a little bit more of a medical look for it. Falco, on the other hand, was dressed in his usual flight suit, upon his insistence.

Had I had the choice, I would have just worn my black gym pants with my Ghostbusters T-shirt. Instead, I had to wear khaki pants, which must have been specifically designed to be as uncomfortable as possible, and a suit and tie. But Falco, _no,_ he gets to wear whatever he wants!

Sometimes life just isn't fair.

A priest had been brought in for the ceremony. His name was Freddie Flapper, and he was actually an atheist. However, he was qualified to his job, since the majority of Cornerian adults identified as either atheist or agnostic. He was going to be the one who officiated the ceremony.

There wasn't really an aisle here, since it was basically just the apartment. Cole, Ian, and Konstantin were also present, and they were all wearing suits just like mine. We looked like four very different clones, with Ian's slight frame, Cole's longer black hair, and Konstantin's muscular body. Despite this, all of us were united in being grateful that Falco and Dr. Howler loved each other. In such unpredictable times, love was still present.

Fox and Slippy were also there, and both of _them_ were wearing suits as well. Indeed, only the groom was wearing his work clothes.

Priest Flapper went over and said, "Do you, Falco Lombardi, take Tigre Howler to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do" said Falco.

He turned to the Bengal tiger. "And do you, Tigre Howler, take Falco Lombardi to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do".

"You may kiss the bride" the priest said.

Falco and Dr. Howler began to snog each other. Then, we were allowed to mill around the room and talk with one another.

I saw Falco immediately walk over to Fox. They began talking about the war.

"Fox, thank you so much for warning us about Andross. There is no question that we aren't in an ideal position right now, but things would be far worse had you not raised the alarm. I believe in God, and I thank Him for that every day".

"You are very much welcome, Falco" Fox said to his former teammate.

I thought once more about the status of the war. From what I had heard, it didn't sound good. I really did think that as the Vice President of Corneria, I would be privileged to know more about how the enemy was militarizing Katina for an attack on us, but that just wasn't going on. I wasn't considered to be privy to that information.

Continuing to walk around the apartment, I decided to get some refreshments. It was around lunchtime, and we were all getting hungry. Luckily, such a great spread had been set up that we would not remain that way for long.

Sandwiches, with fixings for lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, pickles, ham, turkey, chicken, and mayonnaise were all arranged on the table. There were also potato chips, salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, fruit salad, and several types of pastries.

I put a burger with pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes on my plate, and added some chips and a lemon bar before going to sit next to Cole on the steps.

"How have the last few days been going in the Senate, Cole?" I asked him.

"Not good, Lucas, not good" he said, frowning.

The frown was contagious, and I found myself feeling a lot less happy after that. The lemon bar, one of my favorite foods in this solar system or the human one, tasted a lot less awesome.

"What do you mean, Cole?" I asked, not entirely certain that I wanted to know.

"Well, General Pepper's really ill. They are thinking that he might...you know, not be able to be President anymore. We all know what happens if he...you know...".

There were no secrets about this on Corneria. We all knew that if General Pepper died, then I was next in line to be the President of Corneria. What Cole, and probably the rest of the country didn't know, was that I was very ill, and thus might not be able to be the President in an effective manner. Only time would tell if that turned out to be the case.

"What's the current condition?" I asked him.

Cole read the card that he had been given, that probably all of the Senators had been given.

"General Pepper is in the Intensive Care Unit of the Cornerian General Hospital. He is on a ventilator, and they don't know if he will live".

This sent a jolt of fear through my heart. I knew that I wasn't fit to govern, and Cole looked at me with an expression that said, _I am so, so sorry._

"There's an uproar in the Senate, Lucas. They can't bear the thought of a seventeen-year-old being the one governing. And if you resigned, that might make the public lose a lot of faith in you. Not you, this whole _planet._ The fact is that you need to be prepared to govern effectively".

"Really, it was incredibly irresponsible of them to promote me to Vice President" I said.

"I totally agree. Which is why I think that you should resign from your position of Vice President right now".

"I can't do that. For the same reason that you said earlier".

Cole looked at me, and then went off, leaving me to hang out without him.

Ian and Konstantin were discussing weapons a little further away. I could barely hear them over the sounds of so many other people, and I decided not to even try. Instead, I decided to hang out and kind of lose myself in the middle of all of it.

What if nothing worked? What if I never did get the help that they thought the medication would give me? What if Corneria fell to Andross and his army? I knew that the consequences would not be good.

All around me, I could hear the sounds of music playing. It sounded like a mix of "Violet Hill" by Coldplay and "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy. I wasn't sure why those songs were being played at a wedding, but I didn't really care.

People were dancing and having a good time, while I was in the middle of the room, locked in a state of emotional turmoil.

"How is it going, Falco?" I asked the groom when he came by me.

"You look like you're bothered by something, Lucas" he said. "I was about to ask you the same question".

"It's really quite nice" I told him.

"You're a really bad liar, Lucas Enfield" he said, poking me. "I know that there is something bothering you".

"It's just...Cole says that General Pepper really is bad off...they don't know if he'll make it. What if he dies, and I have to govern? I can't just _resign_!"

"No, you can't" Falco said. "But that's okay, because Tigre and I have got your back. We're going to help you, as much as you need to be helped. And I really do think you would make a great President, Lucas. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, of course" he said, hearing his new wife coming up from behind him.

"Hello, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "Enjoying the festivities?"

"Yeah!" I said.

"Don't overdo it with those lemon bars" she said. "We don't want you throwing up tonight again. You know that could happen".

"Thanks, Doc".

The newly married couple then went off, and I was once again left by myself.

Did I mention that I was in a state of emotional turmoil?

That only got more intense when the doorbell rang, and all eyes were on me, being that I was the closest one to the door.

"Yeah, relax, I'll get it" Konstantin said.

 _You saved me! I owe you, Brockenbough,_ I thought.

To everyone's surprise, the person behind the door was a girl with long, golden brown hair and blue eyes that shone like the nearby ocean. She was about average height, and she was all too familiar to me.

 _Willow Foster. What the fuck is she doing here?_

Willow blanched at seeing my facial expression. At least, I figured that I must have looked pretty shocked, for her to be looking that way.

"Is there a problem?" Freddie Flapper said.

"No" my ex-girlfriend said. "I have a message that I'm supposed to deliver to Lucas Enfield"

"The name?" Flapper asked her.

"Willow Foster" she said.

The priest gasped. No doubt he had heard all about our breakup, given just how public it had been.

"Yeah, just give it to him. He's right there" Falco said unnecessarily.

It was pretty awkward as she walked on over to me. We hadn't broken up on good terms, after all. She'd invited me to an Italian dinner and made me believe that it was yet another romantic date, like so many others that we had been on. Instead, she'd completely blindsided me with a breakup.

Willow walked on over to me and deposited the letter in my arms without making any eye contact. Then, she left the apartment, without even giving me a look in the eye.

I looked at the letter, handling it gingerly as if it might be a bomb. I knew that all eyes were on me. After all, why wouldn't they be? My ex-girlfriend had just crashed Falco's and Dr. Howler's wedding and handed me a letter in front of all of them.

"Well. Open it" Ian said.

I was going to do that anyway. Even if it was a bomb, I wanted to _know._

It wasn't a bomb. It was something far worse.

The letter read:

 _GENERAL AMADEUS PEPPER HAS PASSED AWAY OF VIRAL PNEUMONIA. TIME OF DEATH WAS 12:29 PM, JUNE 16, 201Y._

 _THE NEW PRESIDENT OF CORNERIA IS LUCAS ZANTRY ENFIELD._


	4. Escape

**I really want you guys to review this chapter. It's the longest one yet in the story, and I want to hear your thoughts on it. A lot of stuff is going to happen.**

 **I am hoping that you enjoy it for what it is, and that is a reminder that even though I'm now juggling two fics, I'm still going to alter my chapter size very much according to what the plot demands. In general, though, I'm aiming for six thousand words per chapter on average, just like it was with Attack Of The Anglars.**

 **I will warn you...there is a part of this chapter that is not for those with weak stomachs. It's also highly depressing. If you saw my Tumblr in early March, you may have heard about my listening to the soundtrack of Yoshi's Story while writing it...this is when I was doing it. I love dissonance like this.**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor with my legs being held in the air. Then, my vision came back.

I realized that I was still in my apartment, and I had the whole wedding party staring at me. Granted, it wasn't that many people. It was still pretty embarrassing, of course. I couldn't remember, for a minute, what had happened to cause me to pass out. It just didn't make any sense.

Then, everything else came back. Yes...I'd been reading a letter that I'd been given by Willow Foster. _Willow..._ at the thought of my ex-girlfriend, my throat threatened to close up. I had so many grievances against that girl that it's hard to list them.

"Everyone, give him some space" Dr. Howler said. She walked over in her white bridal dress and gave me a large book to put my feet on.

"This is just to get some more blood to your brain" she said to me. Then, she walked away and asked the others to give me some space again.

"Really, guys, you should just go" Falco said. "Lucas needs to be alone right now. He's not well".

When Cole started to protest, Dr. Howler cut him off. "It's really _our_ party, Mr. McCallen. We can tell you to leave if and when we want to".

Cole didn't look too happy about it, but he walked out the door, followed by Ian and Konstantin. Freddie Flapper left behind them. Fox and Slippy looked as though they were debating amongst themselves whether or not they should stay or they should go. Ultimately, Slippy left while Fox did not, instead coming over to sit next to me.

Together, Fox, Falco, and Dr. Howler made a triangle around me, as if this was some pagan ritual to heal me.

"What happened?" I eventually asked.

"You passed out as you were holding that note" Fox explained. "I read it and...it really seems that you had good reason to pass out. I mean, it's not a good thing that you did, but I get what happened. It must have really been a shock to you".

"Yeah. It really was" I said.

"Just take it easy, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "I mean, you're already ill, and now this...it's just crazy. I mean, you've been saddled with such a big job...are you sure you don't just want to resign?"

"Yes, I'm staying on". I knew that if I resigned, I would be an eternal embarrassment, as the President who resigned after only a few hours in office. Even harder to stomach than the idea of working with Willow.

 _No. I can't think about that right now._

"Really, he was very ill before he died" Falco said. "Viral pneumonia...it was a bad case, too, and at his age...there was always a good chance he just wouldn't make it. I'm sorry, Lucas".

"No, it's fine. I'm going to do my job as President".

"Go to bed early, Lucas Zantry Enfield. You'll need all of your strength for when you move into the President's Mansion tomorrow, because that is a far harder job than being the Vice President. Let's just say that you really do need your rest".

"That's right" said Fox. "I heard about your illness, and I really do feel bad about that. But now's not the time to take pity on ourselves. Not when we've got so much work to do".

"Do you want to have soup for dinner later, Lucas?" Dr. Howler asked me.

I shook my head. With the sheer amount that I had eaten for lunch, combined with the slight nausea that I always seemed to have these days, I didn't even know if I would ever have to eat again, even if I did manage to survive this thing.

"It's no surprise, really. We all had a lot to eat at the party" Falco said.

"Very well, then" Dr. Howler said. "You will go to bed at eight-thirty tonight, no excuses. Now, I've got to inform Dr. Tuskland of this".

Dr. Howler went over to the phone and began to have a conversation with someone on the other end whom I assumed was the elephant doctor.

"Should I go now?" Fox asked Falco. "I kind of need to help with the war. It was hard getting even this time off for your wedding".

"If you'd like to, sure" Falco replied. "You went to all this trouble to come here".

"Okay" Fox said.

Then, he turned around and walked out the door, leaving me alone with the newly married couple who were also my guardians.

Now, they were going to be my advisers as well.

* * *

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. There were just too many things on my mind. Not least of which was, I just couldn't believe that I was actually the most powerful person in the entire Lylat System. Giving that to a terminally ill seventeen-year-old seemed like a crazy idea, and it was now my goal to show that they hadn't been wrong to do that.

And I'd have to work with Willow again, as she was the Secretary Of State. The idea made me want to strip naked and roll around in broken glass for a couple of hours, but I knew that I'd have to do it. The whole country, no, the whole Lylat System was counting on me.

Willow Foster...she'd crashed the party in order to deliver the letter. She was one determined girl, I knew that much. She hadn't even been invited to the occasion. Granted, had that been me I would have been pretty pissed. Still, though, it was pretty creepy that she knew _just_ where to go. Had I not been being forced to see her regularly now, I would be filing for a restraining order the first chance I got.

No wonder the thought of working with her, as well as being the President at the ripe old age of 17, had caused me to faint.

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

Tonight was the night.

I was going to make my escape attempt tonight. Checking the date on my calendar, I saw that it was Sunday, June 23, 201Y. That was the night I was aiming for, because on Sunday nights the guards were being rotated. It would be easy for me to get out of there, almost easy enough for it to be boring.

I got out of bed a little bit after midnight. Getting out of my pajamas, I ran as quickly, while still staying light on my feet, as possible. I did not want to wake up any occupants of the underground palace that I didn't have to. And, for this purpose, it was vastly better if I did not wake anyone up.

 _All right, Victor. Just make it up those stairs without getting seen. Can you do that?_

It wasn't too far to the hangar bay. A few staircases and hallways were what separated me from freedom. The fact of the matter was, I was sick of serving Andross. I was sick of doing such morally reprehensible things, not least because it was so dangerous to me.

I've always considered myself a fairly selfish person. Everything I had done, including helping Andross, had really been to help _myself_ in the end. I saw that now, more clearly than I ever had before. And I really did consider not running away.

But, ultimately, the brazen side of me won the day. I really wanted to get out of here.

The fleet of Wolfen that the Star Wolf team, headquartered on Venom, were held in the hangar bay, a large, airy room that was next to a massive window overlooking the Venomian landscape. The smell of sulphur, akin to rotten eggs, permeated the whole place.

All of the ships were on a ledge about fifty feet in diameter, right on the edge of the desert. If I could get in there, I was going to be within reach of one of them even _if_ there was one of Andross's other cronies in this room.

I sprinted as quickly as my legs could carry me to a Wolfen. Then, I realized something: I had never flown before.

That was pretty reckless of me. Just running to a Wolfen and thinking I'd be able to fly it. If you were to yell at me, _Victor! What's wrong with you?_ , you'd be right. But that was what I was going to do.

As I tried to open the door to the cockpit, a voice behind me said, "I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend".

* * *

 _Pigma._

The little hog, quite literally, had turned up at precisely the wrong moment. Right when I was about to make my getaway, he _had_ to show up and ruin everything.

"I'm cutting ties with all of these lies that I've been living in!" I retorted.

"This is an awesome life, Victor Halsmith. You get three square meals a day, and you're living like a king. It could be far worse, you know".

 _Yes, it could. But it could also be better._

"Look. If you do not want to see me again, I would understand" I said, trying to get Pigma to leave me alone.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Pigma shouted, running over to me as fast as his chubby legs could carry him.

We grappled with each other for some time, each one of us trying to get hold of Pigma's blaster. It wasn't easy to get into the ship where things were.

"Ah" Pigma said. "The angry boy, a bit too insane".

" _You're_ the one who's insane!"

"Silence, Halsmith! You're staying here, and Andross is going to punish you good for this. Maybe he'll even _kill_ you!"

That did it. I really, really wanted to keep on living. I had so much to do. I still had to make up for all of the harm I had caused.

"Fuck you, Dengar!" I yelled, not caring who else might have heard me. I gave Pigma a kick in the face as I finally managed to open the door into the Wolfen.

Pigma tried to stop me, but I kicked him again. I was just kicking and screaming, trying to get into the ship.

Eventually, I did manage to sit down in the cockpit and close the door, with Pigma still being outside it. I managed to take off, leaving Pigma and the others behind.

* * *

For a while, things were going great. I was soaring above the sand dunes that made up the landscape of Venom, and having a great time relishing in the fact that I was finally _free._ Free to just fly away.

But, once again, I remembered the obvious. I wasn't an experienced pilot, and it was pretty dangerous to be doing what I was doing right now. If you had told me that I was a raving lunatic who was going to crash and burn, that would be a valid criticism.

Even in spite of this, it wasn't too difficult to keep the ship aloft, at least for a while. I understood the basic principle of how it moved in the opposite direction that you tilted the controls in, so as long as I didn't tilt it up too much, I wouldn't crash into the dunes. Probably.

"Yeee-haw!" I yelled triumphantly, like a cowboy. I was doing this. I was _getting away from those jerks._

It wasn't to last, though. Soon, my ship began to jerk and slow down. At first, I wondered why that was. Then, I saw that I was running low on fuel.

 _They thought of everything._

The jerking motion was in order to conserve fuel, however that would have been accomplished by that. Really, I didn't see how that would help too much, but it meant that I had to be that much more careful in order to stay alive.

I finally got out of Venomian airspace and began to leave the massive yellow-green planet behind. This was highly symbolic for me, as a sign that I had escaped. Now, I just had to find a safe place to land.

But it wasn't going to be easy. The ship continued to jerk, and I knew that I had to land soon, or else I _was_ going to crash and burn. Once again, I didn't really see why they only kept ships with low fuel in the docking bay, but maybe it was so that even if I got out of there, I wouldn't get far.

There was a large cube in front of me, made out of gray metal. Six energy towers were present on its top face. It looked like some kind of defense satellite for Venom. If I landed there, I might be directly in harm's way, but it was better than just ending up floating through space. Plus, I saw some other ship there. I didn't know why it was present, but I decided that I was going to go there.

If I aimed for it, on the off chance the people on that ship were going to help me, that was probably my best chance of survival from here on out. And I wanted to survive.

I managed to keep the ship level for long enough so that I could end up on the satellite. However, my ship crashed onto the cube soon after, the "nose" of it burying itself in the metal. I didn't know how that was even possible, but I didn't have too much time to wonder.

The cockpit opened, and I went flying into the air. It must have been thirty feet or so, approximately the same height of a rock-climbing wall. I knew I was toast, until I felt how slowly I was falling.

It must have been one-fourth the speed of falling on Earth. I was practically _floating_ down.

 _Must be low gravity here!_ I thought happily.

That only lasted so long, however. I tried to land on my feet, but they didn't like that. It was only then that I realized that I must have suffered some sort of injuries during the crash.

The pain from those injuries caught up to me once I hit the ground. Even though I landed standing up, it forced me to my knees. My head started swimming.

I felt something crack, then I saw something that looked like an anthropomorphic frog running over to me, carrying a stretcher.

"There you go" he said in a slightly childish tone of voice. "Get on the stretcher".

I collapsed, more than climbed, onto the stretcher. The frog strapped me in and began to carry me towards his ship, as my vision began to darken.

The last thing I remember is seeing the logo on the side of the ship. It was crimson in color, and it looked kind of like a flying fox on its four legs, with a wing sticking out of its back.

I blacked out.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

I'd been told about Lucas's illness by Konstantin over the phone after the wedding. It pained me to think of Lucas dying a few weeks from now. It was just too much to bear.

I'm not proud of it, but I broke down crying right after that. I wondered if Lucas fainting in the middle of the party had something to do with that, but I also felt that it very easily could have just been because of the contents of the letter.

Lucas Zantry Enfield was now the President of Corneria. That was quite something, and I felt kind of bad for the guy. It must be pretty bad to find out, all of a sudden, that you have been promoted to such a position when you're only seventeen years old. Not only that, but you're very ill as well, and dying.

Because of this, I decided to pay extra attention at the lab the day after the wedding. I only worked five days a week, and, since today was a Monday, I was just getting back to work after the weekend. I hadn't had to skip any work to go to Lucas's birthday dinner five days previously.

I didn't have anything to work with. As all I knew was that what Lucas had was a blood infection, that really limited the amount of possible research I could do. It wasn't like I had a sample of his blood to examine.

Now, if I could get Dr. Tuskland to give me a sample of his blood...that would be something I could use. If I only made sure she knew that I was Ian Keller, a former member of Star Enfield, she'd be willing to do it. Maybe.

Probably, if she knew that it could help save Lucas's life. Now that he was the most powerful person in all of Corneria, his life was much more valuable than mine. Really, we should all be trying to keep him alive.

 _This is hopeless,_ I thought. _Without a sample, there's no way we can get this done._

There were basically two types of work I did at the lab. The first type was biological, which was the kind I was slightly less into. It still was helpful for the Cornerians. Even though I was only nineteen, and it was still June, we were already hard at work developing the flu vaccine for the next year.

The other type of work was far more interesting to me. That was working on weapons for the Cornerian army, something I took very seriously. I'd always been very much into science fiction-type weaponry, but now that I actually got the chance to _do_ it I was over the moon. It was pretty awesome. Already, I was having a great time at it.

It wasn't hard for me to be happy. And yet...it was just as easy for me to sink into despair. We were no closer to finding a way to isolate Lucas's blood any better, and he didn't have much time left.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

The President's Mansion on Corneria was also known as the Green House. The reason for this is because of the many gardens that ringed its perimeter, filled with flowers of various colors. There were also fountains, a small river, a small lake, and even a hedge maze.

In short, it looked like paradise. The only problem was that it was a little weird to be living in the same house as a man who had just died yesterday.

As soon as Falco, Dr. Howler, and myself had made our way to the door, we were met by a security person. "Hello, Mr. President. I'm Commander Paisley, and I'm going to be showing you around your new home".

Really, this place looked kind of like a castle. I didn't know how long it was going to take to get around this place.

"Okay" I said.

We were led into the main hallway, which was very opulent. It was a thirty-yard circle, with two wide stairwells leading up to the same place, covered in red carpeting. A dining area was at the bottom for guests, and there was a set of heavy-looking doors at the top.

"The public isn't allowed past those doors" Commander Paisley said. "We're going to go up the stairs, and then I'll show you to your room. Do you have all of your bags from the apartment you used to stay at?"

"Yes, I brought all of them with me" I said. To be fair, Falco was carrying about fifty percent of them, and Dr. Howler about fifty percent of the rest of them, leaving me to only carry a quarter of my stuff.

"Nice honeymoon destination, huh?" Falco said.

Paisley looked at both of them. "Did you just get hitched?"

"Yes, just yesterday in fact" Dr. Howler replied.

We made our way up to the top of the stairs, and then I tried to open the doors. They weren't budging.

"They're pretty heavy" Paisley said. "I'll take them".

The security dog then proceeded to push them open like they were nothing.

"Sorry" I apologized. "My strength isn't what it used to be".

"No problem" he said, although I could tell that he was wondering precisely _why_ I was weaker than normal.

We passed through the doors, and then he led us down a hallway to a room with a bed in it. "This is your bedroom, Mr. President".

"Thank you, Commander Paisley" I said. It certainly looked like a nice bedroom. The bed was king-sized, with blue sheets and a window that opened out onto the lake.

"You are very much welcome. Thank _you_ in advance for what you will do as President".

I dropped my bags there. Feeling more unencumbered now, I continued to follow my guardians, along with Commander Paisley, down the hallway.

"Here is the cafeteria, where you will eat the majority of your meals. And here is the Orange Room, which is one of the places that you are going to have meetings, including with the Secretary Of State".

He looked ruefully at me. I could tell that he felt bad for me, having to work so closely with my ex-girlfriend. We'd worked together during the war against the Anglars, but that had been very different. There had been far less between us, and now we had all of this bad blood. I didn't see how it was going to work.

"There's also a hospital here" said Paisley. "All sorts of medical supplies, for use by you and your advisers. And there's a library, as well. I think that you will enjoy your stay".

He led us into another room, this one looking like another office. The carpeting all around the room was dark purple in color, and there was a large table with a swivel chair on the end.

"This is where you will be given bills to sign or veto, just like the President of your United States. You'll also hold a few board meetings in the Orange Room. This is the Purple Room" he said unnecessarily.

After that, our tour was just about over. The whole area wasn't that big. There was a swimming pool, a gym, and several other facilities for use by me, Falco, or Dr. Howler, but it really wasn't that huge.

Really, I was glad that that was done. I just wanted some time to think, because God knows I needed it.

* * *

Later, we ate dinner together in the cafeteria.

Dr. Howler and Falco sat together on one side of the table, while I was on the other. They had told me that there were some riots right now over the fact that they had someone so young as President.

"It's not too late to resign, Lucas" Dr. Howler said again. "It might help your health if you did so".

I knew that I didn't want to resign. I didn't see the point of dividing the country further. Now was probably the last time it was needed.

"I'm staying on" I said.

"Well, I'm glad that you're taking your medication and doing everything else that was recommended by the doctors" Falco said. "You've got to give your body the best chance you can. Agreed, Tigre?"

"Oh, for sure, Falco" Dr. Howler said, planting a kiss on the avian's cheek.

"Is the war going to be a big problem here anytime soon?" I asked. I was quite concerned about the way things were doing, because it sure seemed that we might get overrun, with so many enemy forces on Katina. I wasn't sure that I was physically up to the task of taking part in battles, either. Gone were the days of me racing down hallways, shooting at everyone in sight.

"We'll have to be careful" Falco said. "I know that Katina is going to have to be defended pretty well. As President, you are also going to be the commander in chief of the military...so you'll be in charge of making all of the decisions. I know, it's a lot to put on a seventeen-year-old".

"I'm up to the task" I insisted.

Of course, in my head I wasn't a hundred percent sure that I was telling the truth.

Falco pressed a button on a remote, turning on the TV, and tuned it to a news channel.

On it, a military person of some kind was giving a speech. General Pepper's funeral was taking place right now.

"General Pepper was a great man. We know that he must leave us now, and although the disgraceful unfitness of his successor might make us look more highly on him than perhaps we should, he was a great President of Corneria. He will be sorely missed".

I realized that they were talking on me. I was the _disgracefully unfit successor_ they were talking about. The idea made me feel sick to my stomach.

"Can I go up to bed now?" I asked. "I'm not feeling too well".

Falco and Dr. Howler looked at each other sadly, as though they were aware of what I was thinking. Which, based on how close we had gotten over the last six months, was probably the case.

"Yes, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "If that's the way you feel, you need your sleep. You can govern in the morning".

I nodded before heading down to my bedroom. I didn't bother to shower or brush my teeth, I just put on my pajamas and shoved myself into bed, fighting waves of nausea. Even in spite of that, it didn't take long for me to force myself into sleep.

* * *

That seemingly didn't last long, however. Even though I could tell from the clock that it had been hours since I'd gone to bed, I felt distinctly unrested. Granted, it wasn't often that I didn't feel at least a _little_ fatigued these days.

However, this was different. I could feel sweat all over my body, and sick rising in the back of my throat. I'd thrown up on multiple occasions since I'd started taking the pills to get the blood into the place that they wanted it to, so that they could siphon it all out. It wasn't going to be easy to get back to sleep now, I could tell.

Dr. Howler had had multiple sleepless nights because of me, and since Falco often woke up when she did, by virtue of being a light sleeper, so had he. I still felt guilty about that, but that didn't change the fact that I needed to throw up, _now._

I managed to make it into the bathroom. Aiming for the toilet, I misfired a bit, getting some in the bathtub. Just to avoid getting any splashback from the water in the bowl, I decided to focus on the bathtub from here on out. I could always turn on the faucet to wash it all away, but I knew that I wouldn't be taking a bath anytime soon. That just wasn't going to happen with how much I was destroying the thing.

After what must have been a solid minute of retching, the bottom of the tub was all filled up with my own vomit. I stood back, able to stop myself from throwing up for a while.

 _Should I wake Dr. Howler?_

I didn't see why. It was one-thirty in the morning. Chances are this would blow over quickly. It was probably just some fluke thing, and I'd be fine soon. After all, whenever I got a stomach bug, I usually only threw up once, and then I was fine. Or at least _felt_ fine. Really, who could tell?

I went back in bed and tried to go back to sleep. After trying at this for about ten more minutes, I had to throw up more, so I went back to the tub and continued to heave until I was just dry-heaving. Really, that wasn't a pleasant event at all.

After I continued to throw up bile, making awful heaving noises that sounded like the call of a seal, I heard someone rush into the room behind me and grab me on the shoulders. It wasn't the strongest grasp the person had on me, but it was definitely stronger than I would have been able to muster.

Once I had emptied my mouth once again, I looked back and I saw that it was Dr. Howler.

It was pretty humiliating to see myself being held by a Bengal tiger at the age of seventeen, and when I'm over six feet tall, but this was what it came to. How pathetic, really.

"Relax, Lucas. You're going to be okay. Just make sure to drink plenty of fluids. This is normal, just a side effect of the medication".

I wasn't sure if I could comply with either of the requests contained within what she had just said to me. I highly doubted that I could keep any water in my stomach.

"Take a sip of some water" she said, pouring me a cup and holding it to my lips.

 _This was so demeaning._ Here I was, water being poured into my mouth, barely being able to do anything. And holding down that water constituted "anything".

Not more than thirty seconds after the water had passed my lips, I was already puking it up again. I couldn't keep it down. I threw up what must have been more than had been in that cup. I threw up so much my legs hit the ground.

"Do you want to try that again, Lucas?" she asked me.

 _No more puking. But if it'll make me feel better..._

She filled another cup, and I took a sip again. This time, I was a lot more careful, trying to only take a couple of sips at a time. If I overdid it, the results weren't going to be pretty.

Sure enough, I barfed again. I couldn't keep it down. And, based on that, this gave me far more concerns. Was the medication going to kill me before the disease did?

* * *

Dr. Howler helped me get back to my bed, where I sat on top of it. Well, I was really closer to lying down, I was so exhausted. And yet, I couldn't fall asleep.

I knew what was coming. The same thing that had happened twice before. I wasn't sure if I could trust Dr. Howler to get a tube into my vein at 1:30 in the morning, but that was what she was bound and determined to do.

"Lucas, I am going to have to hook you up to an IV. I know that you're tired and all, but you'll feel better once I can get some fluids in you. Plus, I'll give you some anti-nausea medication, and you'll probably be all better in the morning. I really do think this is a temporary issue, but we can't let you get too dehydrated during it".

That was what I had been expecting. Really, I was just glad that I wasn't going to die yet. Hopefully, the medication was still working, and we would figure out a way to cure me of this disease.

Dr. Howler left for the medical area and came back, toting a bag and a pole, as well as a needle and tourniquet.

"Here you go" she said. "I'm even letting you stay in your own bed, because I think that's more comfortable. I'll just sleep with you for the rest of the night, bring a mattress over here".

"You don't...have to" I said weakly, my voice not too much more than a croak at this point.

"It's no problem" she said.

"What about Falco? Did he wake up?"

"No. He somehow slept through the sound of you ralphing all over the place".

"Just in the toilet and bathtub!" I exclaimed as strongly as I could.

"Hold still, Lucas" she said as she put the tourniquet on my arm and slid the needle in. Soon thereafter, she'd gotten the tube in and hung the bag from the pole.

"Okay. We're good. I'm just going to leave you alone for a minute and get the mattress, then come back here. I'll keep an eye on you, just try not to throw up on me".

I couldn't do much else but sit still and wait for the effects of the anti-nausea medication she injected into the drip to take effect.

A minute later, Dr. Howler returned, toting a mattress and blanket with a pillow.

"If you feel better in the morning, I might take it out" she told me. "For now, try to get some sleep, because God knows you need it".

I tried to take her advice, but I lay awake for a few minutes. For one, I tend to toss and turn a lot when trying to find a good sleeping position. However, when you have an IV in your arm, that really discourages it from happening. It's not easy to roll over in your sleep.

Eventually, I did manage to get back to sleep, imagining how awful it would be if I puked on Dr. Howler.

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

"Nnnnggghhh...".

My legs were in pain, and so were my arms. My eyes were hard to open, due to the sheer amount of pain medication coursing through my veins. Eventually, though, I did manage to wake up, and found myself looking up at a figure.

It was a frog. The same one who had saved me before I had blacked out.

Looking around, I saw that I was in a room that looked like a futuristic hospital room, lying on a gray bed that was more comfortable than it looked. The frog was standing over me, looking with a sad expression.

"What's wrong? Where am I? And yes, I know that's really an overused trope".

"No, it's fine" said the frog in its somewhat childish voice. "I'm Slippy Toad, and I found you on top of the Bolse Defense Satellite last night. You seemed pretty badly injured from the crash, and you were. I'm sorry you got hurt, but maybe you should have taken flying lessons from me first".

 _If he knew who I really was, he would never have saved me,_ I thought.

"What happened?"

"Two broken ribs, broken left leg, and many bruises all over the place. It was from the initial impact, though", he said, "not the fall. Was that fall pleasant?"

In a way, it kind of had been. I wasn't in pain yet, just because of all of the adrenaline. Plus, it was kind of like the auto-belay back at the rock climbing place near Harvard, where I'd gone some weekends with a few of my fellow nerds.

"Yeah. Why was it so slow".

"Bolse has its own gravity, but it's pretty weak, so you fall roughly four times slower, and thus can jump about four times higher, than on Corneria, or Earth. Is that where you're from?"

"Yes" I said. "How do you know?"

"I can just tell" Slippy said. "You're human. What's your name?"

I saw no reason to lie to him. It wasn't like he had heard my name before, most likely. I didn't think I'd be that famous on Corneria. I was just one of Andross's servants, not like Pigma or Leon. Or the late Wolf O'Donnell.

"Victor Halsmith" I said. "I'm from Massachusetts".

"Ah...Victor. So...would you like to join the Lylat System in an effort to defeat Andross and his army?"

"There's a little thing I'd like to say about that. I know that you might hate me to tell you this, but I think that I have to. I want to be honest with you".

"What is it, Victor?" he asked me.

"I worked with Andross for the last two and a half months. I was his servant, didn't do anything too major, but I still helped him. I really don't think you're going to trust me after that, but I'd just like to say that I _have_ had a change of heart. I'm more than willing to work with you now".

I was surprised at that. Normally, as the nerd, I tended to be far more reserved, and pretty shy when speaking. But somehow, I'm not sure how, I managed to speak with _authority_ this time. It was as if I had already had it all planned out.

"Oh" Slippy said. "Well, that's fine as long as you're going to make up for it now. You could work for us now, Victor Halsmith. You could put the past away. You could redeem yourself. Do you accept my deal?"

I didn't hesitate. "Deal accepted".


	5. Old Wounds

**All right, guys. Here comes another chapter! It's shorter than usual, and I'm sorry for that.**

 **Also, my cousin came up from Baltimore to visit, so that was pretty awesome.**

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

I hated Senate meetings. I had thought that once I got into the routine, I would get used to them and therefore not hate them quite as much. However, it was just getting worse and worse, the idea that we were just sitting here, bickering politicians, while Andross's army advanced towards us. Really, I was surprised the war hadn't been lost already.

Konstantin Brockenbough, one of my former teammates from Star Enfield, was visiting to give a speech. He was talking about what we needed to do in order to defeat Andross. Normally, I liked listening to Konstantin, even though he reminded me of Lucas. He was a very articulate speaker, and could definitely get a whole room interested in whatever he was saying.

Today, however, he sounded a little detached, like he was dwelling on something else. Of course, all of us had our own vices, but Konstantin sounded like he was hardly even worried about the war. He kept glancing over in my direction, as if he wanted to tell me something after his speech was over.

"We need to deploy more troops to Katina, and we need to do it _now_ ", he said, banging his fist on the podium in front of him. "If we don't, we're going to get overrun by Andross. I promise you, I may be young, but I _will_ lead the charge!"

The other Senators were stirred into action, and there was instantly a great deal of debate about just what actions we should be taking. I was mostly staying out of it, but Konstantin came up to me.

"Willow, we need to talk about something. It's something I think that you would like to know".

I wasn't sure that I did want to know the news. After all, if it was about Lucas, I would just get really jumbled about what I was really thinking. As much as I resented him for killing Jack, as much as I feared him for possibly getting influenced by the drug yet again, I couldn't help but feel that, somewhere deep down, I still loved him.

Point being, I really didn't want to hear about Lucas.

* * *

Konstantin led me out of the main chamber into a quiet hallway. There was no one else inside of it, so I knew that no one else would be able to hear our conversation. If it was about Lucas, I really didn't want to get caught showing any emotion at whatever the news might be.

"Willow, Lucas called me up the other day...".

"I don't _want_ to know what my ex-boyfriend is up to!" I all but yelled. "I _hate_ him. He's violent, destructive... _he killed Jack!_ "

"I know" Konstantin said. "But something else is killing him. He's not going to be around for too much longer, most likely".

"What?" I asked. I wasn't sure if the news that Lucas was dying made me happy or sad. It did make me feel highly awkward, the fact that I didn't know how to feel about it.

"Willow, when Lucas was injected with that drug, the one that caused him to kill Jack...it also contained a substance that is poisoning his blood. The other Senators, at least most of them, don't know this. They're giving him tons of medications to try to consolidate the blood in one area, so that they can remove it, but they're not optimistic. I know you saw him yesterday...did he look pale to you or anything?"

I thought about it. It hadn't occurred to me at the time, but now I did see that yes, Lucas had looked a little tired. I assumed that it was from the stress of being Vice President, and now he was President now, having known even then that General Pepper might pass away. Now that he had, Lucas Enfield was the President. But still...

"Yeah, he didn't look the best" I conceded.

"Quite right" Konstantin replied. "And yes, Lucas is likely to die in the next few weeks if things don't work out. I know that you don't care about him anymore, but still...".

"I understand, but I still hate that asshole" I said through clenched teeth.

"I know you do. You think he's dangerous, but I will assure you that he isn't. If he does seem harsh about anything, it's probably just because of all the stress he will be under during his time as President. Speaking of that, we should probably get back to the meeting. I think the next topic is Lucas".

* * *

I got back to my seat. As Secretary Of State, I was able to participate in Senate meetings. And, just like Konstantin had told me, the main topic seemed to be Lucas.

"President Enfield", said a feline Senator, "is disgracefully unfit for the office of President Of Corneria. He's only seventeen years old, after all. I say we impeach him!"

"No, we can't just impeach him yet. We need to wait a few weeks, see how he governs. If he's corrupt, we're going to get rid of him then".

"But we can't wait that long! Every day with Lucas Zantry Enfield in the office is another day that we're more vulnerable to an attack by Andross! Isn't that our main priority, making sure we manage to hold that monkey off? We need to do that, so we should have had someone more competent to replace General Pepper!"

"Please, _give him a chance._ He might be even better than General Pepper!"

"Why would he be? He's 17?"

Now, do you see why I hated Senate meetings?

I also felt that Lucas was unfit for office, but for different reasons than most people. Everyone else in the Senate knew that he had killed Jack due to Andrew's drug, but they didn't know about his illness, which, if Konstantin was telling the truth, was slowly killing him. Nobody like that was fit to govern the most powerful planet in the Lylat System!

I knew that, if they found out about my ex's illness, there would be a lot of riots. The civil unrest would be so bad that the government might not be able to function. And, as much as I resented the guy, he kind of _had_ to stay in office. Lucas's supporters would need someone to rally around, because the next few weeks, months, years, or however long this war lasted were going to test this country to its breaking point. I was sure of that much.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

The following morning, I woke up in my own bed, relieved to find out that I had not puked in my sleep. I'd rather not have dirtied Dr. Howler's pajamas.

Dr. Howler, seeing that I was awake, asked me how I was feeling.

"A lot better" I said. "That anti-nausea medication really did the trick. I think that we can take this thing out" I said, gesturing to the IV in my arm.

"I'll be the judge of that" she said, chuckling.

After taking my temperature and finding it to be normal, she said, "Okay. I think that you're right. We can take it out".

Dr. Howler removed the IV and then allowed me to get dressed. She did tell me, however, that I needed to tell her in the future if I was feeling unusually nauseous again. We'd be seeing Dr. Tuskland four days from now, when we could tell her about this latest episode.

"There is another thing I want to tell you" she said to me after I got out of the shower. I assumed that Dr. Howler had gone in there in the night and made sure to turn on the shower head to clean up all of the vomit there. I'd probably been drained enough to sleep right through it.

"What is it?" I asked her. I wasn't sure that I wanted her to tell me right then, not after so much bad news.

"You have a meeting with the Secretary Of State today. Are you feeling up to it? I mean, you just spent have the night on an IV, so if you don't want to, I'd understand".

 _Could the President_ really _cancel a meeting like that?_

"Yes", I said, before remembering who the Secretary Of State was.

"It's Willow" she said unnecessarily. "Is this really what you want, right after being sick? I mean, you're _still_ sick, with the whole blood thing".

"I'll do it. I need to, for the sake of everyone in the country. I'm putting this aside for Corneria".

"Will you help me clean up the Orange Room?" she asked me. "I mean, after a proper breakfast...".

"Of course" I said. "I'd be happy to help".

* * *

After having a light breakfast of a toasted English muffin with peanut butter (Dr. Howler having insisted that anything too much heavier might be hard for me to handle after last night), we went to work on the Orange Room, which was surprisingly messy. I had to help her vacuum up the dust, as she insisted that it had to be spotless for the meeting.

About an hour after we had started, Falco came in to help, having just woken up and eaten breakfast. How he had managed to stay asleep while I was doing so much hurling was beyond me, but he didn't seem to know what had happened last night. Although, he did raise one of his eyebrows slightly at the Band-Aid on my left arm.

"We want the room to look pretty good for Willow, don't we?" he said, smirking.

After his wife gave him a dirty look, his face turned purple before he continued helping.

Even though we had a lot to do with cleaning and all, I couldn't help but dwell on all of the changes that had taken place in my life since I had accepted the position of Vice President. Most of them had been bad, but most of _those_ were unrelated to my being VP.

Even so, it was hard to ignore the fact that I had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, had my girlfriend break up with me over something I couldn't control, and then had my superior, General Pepper, die, elevating me to the position of President. Really, it was just terrible.

But I also still had my friends. They'd had dinner with me on my birthday, showing that the rest of us were still as close as ever. And my friends seemed pretty happy as well. Ian's job at the lab, Cole's job as a Senator, and Konstantin's position in the military all seemed to be pleasing them. I could only hope that they figured the same about my job. I didn't want my friends to feel sorry for me.

And yet...when I thought of what I had to look forward to, which was a series of highly awkward meetings with my ex-girlfriend, followed by a slow and painful death, it was hard not to feel sorry for myself.

"All right" Falco said an hour later. "This room looks pretty clean to me. I just wish that Commander Paisley would've cleaned it up first".

"Well, we didn't want to leave him all that work" Dr. Howler said. She then turned to me. "Lucas, would you like to meet Willow at the door? She's here now" she said, as the doorbell rang.

"No" I said. "I'm not spending a minute more with her than I have to. Would you please get the door for me, and I'll wait here?"

"I'll do that" the Bengal tiger said.

I sat down in my swivel chair in the Orange Room, waiting for what was going to be a big argument, no doubt.

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

When I walked into the Green House, the residence of Lucas Zantry Enfield, Dr. Howler was waiting for me. She looked as friendly as I remembered her, and she was now wearing her wedding ring, having been married to Falco Lombardi for the last two days. Thinking about that fact didn't bring back the best of memories.

I looked at the Bengal tiger and mouthed, "Is it true? Is he really ill?", but she seemed to be ignoring me. Even if Lucas would have lied to me about that, I didn't think that Konstantin would. We didn't have the same kind of bad blood, or really any tensions at all.

Dr. Howler told me the way to the Orange Room of the Green House. "Just go down that hallway, and it's the fourth room on the right. The walls are, well, orange".

Because of this, it was very easy to see the room that she was talking about. The door was the exact one she had specified, and I could feel my heart beginning to race as I turned the corner into the room.

Sitting in a swivel chair, with his feet propped up on his desk, was Lucas Enfield.

* * *

My ex-boyfriend was wearing civilian clothes today, rather than a tuxedo. He indeed looked paler than usual, and he appeared thinner in general. It was only his second day on the job, and yet it seemed to have caused him so much stress.

"I can't believe I have to see you again" he said, with a contemptuous expression on his face.

"Trust me", I said, "that would not have been my first choice either. But we have to work together, because that's just the way things are going".

"Why'd you break up with me?" he asked angrily. "You do realize that there was a high probability that we'd have to work together again, because it's really not that easy to resign. If I could, I would, but I promise you I can't".

"This isn't about that, Mr. President. It's just about how we are supposed to hold up militarily against Andross. Right now, this planet faces such a huge threat!"

Lucas grumbled before stomping his feet back on the floor. "It might face a threat, but I still need answers. Besides increasing the military budget, are there any other attacks, or threats of attacks, that I don't know about?"

"No" I said. "You already know about Katina. The forces there are mostly at bay for now. Andross's, I mean".

"Good" he replied. "Then we are done here, it seems".

"No, Lucas, we're not! The meeting lasts for two hours! We need to discuss more, I've got it on this piece of paper" I said, brandishing the clipboard that I had brought with me.

"I can't believe I've lasted two minutes in the same room as you. I can't _imagine_ two hours".

"Look, Lucas Zantry Enfield. You do realize that I'm afraid of you, right? You killed Jack".

His eyes were now full of anger and pain. "You know that's not my fault. You _know_ that!"

"I couldn't look at you the same way again! Plus, who knows? That drug might still be in your system!"

"It is, in a way" he said, sighing. "Did Konstantin tell you about my illness?"

I felt my heart drop like an elevator whose cables had been cut. "So it _is_ true!"

"Yes, it is. And I might only have a few more weeks to live, so I really want to know what it is that you wanted to be safe from by breaking up with me".

"I _told_ you, I couldn't _trust_ you. That's just the way it went, and I can't look at you the same way again. Especially now that you're President and all...".

"I haven't changed!" Lucas shouted, his hands in the air. "I haven't changed one bit!"

"And that's the problem" I said. "You haven't changed. When you killed Jack, that was all you".

"It wasn't!" he said defensively, holding up his arms like he was having a gun pointed at him. "And you _know_ that".

Just then, Falco came to the door. "I'm sorry, but if this meeting does not become more amicable, I will have to ask you, Ms. Foster, to leave. After all, this is Lucas's house, and if you can't work effectively...".

"Fine" I said. "I'm leaving".

I couldn't stand the idea of what Lucas had done, which was why I had broken up with him. This meant that we were locked in a position of being forced to cooperate. He was President, I was his Secretary Of State, and neither of us were really able to resign. And neither of us could tolerate working with the other one.

Well, that wasn't quite true. I was worried that the drug was still in Lucas's system, and, like he had said, it kind of was, slowly killing him. But there was something else, too. I didn't want him to turn on me, become abusive towards me. But, if Lucas was indeed safe, I was more than willing to cooperate with him for the good of the country.

The only question was, how long would it take before the same could be said of him?

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

It took a week for us to reach Katina on the Great Fox.

After I had been deemed healthy enough to leave med bay, I was able to walk around the Great Fox. I found that I was pretty steady on my feet, and I had Slippy to thank for all of that technology that must have saved my life.

Since the ship was on autopilot the whole time, Slippy and I would occasionally play video games or table tennis together in the rec room of the ship. We had a pretty good time, and I really didn't look forward to arriving on the other planet.

I'd heard that Katina was an old Cornerian army base, but it was now under attack. From what Slippy had told me, we were holding back the enemy pretty well thus far, but it wasn't going to last forever. But I wanted to help. I wanted to do something to repent for the horrible things I had done as a servant of Andross.

We arrived on Katina on the afternoon of June 30, and we were immediately whisked off of the ship into a pyramid-shaped building that looked kind of look those in Egypt. The door closed behind us, seeming like it was some sort of advanced technology.

"I am General Pennington, and I would like to show you two around the base" said the anthropomorphic penguin who greeted us as we arrived in the building. He led us down a hallway and into a room.

* * *

"This is the dining hall" General Pennington said, gesturing around at the room, which was about four times the size of your standard high school cafeteria. Tables with stools attached were all around them. Since it was about 3:00 PM, it was mostly empty, people being at whatever activities or whatever they were required to be at during this time of day.

Pennington led us down the middle of the dining hall, past the counters where food was, and showed us up a spiral staircase that led to a window. From the inside of the place, I could certainly see the situation we were in.

The base, while not too badly surrounded, was within view of no less than twelve enemy tanks, and that was within a view of about ninety degrees, all that was afforded to us from this position. There could have been four times as many, or more.

"You can see the dire straits this base is in" Pennington said. "It's a good thing you came here now. Let me show you to where you will sleep".

"Where do I get any clothes?" I asked. There had been some on the Great Fox, but Slippy had insisted that I shouldn't bring them into the base.

"They are in the dormitories" Pennington said.

The penguin led us down several more hallways until we reached a room that looked as though it could have been one of the Hogwarts dormitories. There were four four-poster beds, all arranged in a circle around a futuristic-looking fireplace. There was a bundle of clothing, including what looked like military uniforms, on each bed.

"Choose one and stick with it" the general said.

Slippy and I each sat on a bed next to each other. We then waited for Pennington to give us further instructions, but he just told us to come down later for dinner.

And thus began our new life on Katina.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

Four days after my shouting match with Willow, another meeting was arranged. They just wanted us to talk about these things peacefully, avoiding bickering as much as possible, something that I more than supported. I wanted to get to the bottom of this war, and I knew that my ex wanted to as well. It was in both of our best interests.

She met me in my office. By then, I had taken the Band-Aid off, and there were no longer any signs that I'd gotten so sick that night. I didn't think that she had noticed that, either.

There was definitely still tension in the air, but not nearly as much as she sat down across from me.

"So, Lucas, what do you want to talk about? I know that the country is in danger from Andross, and I'm sorry for getting so mad at you the other day".

"Really, I understand you're angry that I killed Jack" I replied. "It's something I live with every day, even though I know it wasn't really my fault".

We discussed the war pretty cordially after that, both agreeing that we were going to put more troops on the front lines on Katina. Even though we weren't agreeing on everything, it seemed that we were agreeing on the important things.

Once it was time for Willow to leave, having lasted the whole meeting without yelling at me, I felt that we might not be friends right now, but _allies_ was probably the right word for it. Yes, that was it.

* * *

After the June 22 meeting, I had a check-up with Dr. Tuskland. During this meeting, Dr. Howler reminded me, we were going to discuss my most recent episode, and possibly have a change in medication. It was imperative that we find something that could work.

We got to the hospital, and, after a brief wait in the waiting room, we were called in. The elephant doctor was sitting at her desk as always, looking over her clipboard.

"So...have there been any changes in your situation? Any side effects of the medication that I should know about?"

Dr. Howler and I looked at each other, wondering what we were going to say. "Do you want me to tell her, or would you like to?"

"You do it" I said. "You are a better speaker than me. You know that".

"Okay" the Bengal tiger said. "At about half past one on Tuesday morning, Lucas woke up, vomiting up a storm. He was puking so much that I had to hook him up to an IV in order to make sure he didn't dehydrate".

Dr. Tuskland's eyes began to look worried. "This happened? Again?"

"Yes" Dr. Howler replied. "By morning, though, he was pretty much all better, and he had a meeting with the Secretary Of State".

I noticed how she managed to avoid saying _Willow,_ but it was still abundantly clear whom she was talking about.

"I think that we'll prescribe some anti-nausea medication" she said. "We don't want this to happen again, and we'll do the blood test now".

After the blood test was done, and some of the blood was once again returned to my body, Dr. Tuskland looked at us again.

"The medication is slowly working, but we are going to have to prescribe some new ones. This infection really is resilient, President Enfield. By the way, how much is the stress catching up to you?"

"I don't know if I should tell you that" I said.

"No, it's important" the elephant doctor replied. "Stress can make it harder for the drugs to work, but I know you can't resign".

"That's true" I said. "I can't, not really".

"Quite" she said. "And so you'll now be taking five medications as opposed to three. We need to get you to beat this thing".

Even so, as we were leaving the hospital, I couldn't help but think that it was a race to see which one, the drugs or the disease, was going to kill me first.


	6. The Attack

**Here it comes. Chapter 6. I made it a goal of mine to ensure this was longer than 5,000 words, so let's live up to that goal.**

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

Once I had fully recovered from my injuries, it was very easy to get into shooting on Katina. For once, in fact, I was having a good time doing things that were physical. It wasn't like the previous Victor, the one who had always just been a nerd and not much else. Now, I was getting better.

I took lessons on the shooting range, learning, along with Slippy, how to hit closer to the center of a target. This was satisfying to do, and it made me feel more and more that I was good for something, even if that _something_ might have been shooting.

I still didn't like the non-humans I was with, but that was something I was able to live with. After all, I kind of had to. It was my fault that I'd made the decision to work for Andross, and now I had to make up for it. At least, that was the mindset I had.

It wasn't just shooting, however. More physical things were also, of course, needed to be a soldier. One example of this was army crawls. There was a gymnasium in the base where they had set up ropes strung two feet above the floor, and we had to slither low to the ground in order to not set off the "triggers". Of course, we needed any training we could get in the war against Andross, since the fate of the Lylat System was at stake.

We even had marching drills, where we had to dress up in uniforms. Normally, I liked to wear casual clothes, but I didn't have an option here. I also wasn't the best-coordinated person, but I knew a decent bit about military strategy. I only wished that I was being taught more of _that_ instead of the down-and-dirty stuff.

The routine was difficult to master, but I was given plenty of help, unlike what you would usually imagine being taught in a military facility. Because of this, I was able to work towards that goal...for a day.

Because, on the very first evening that we were on Katina, something unexpected happened.

* * *

We were eating dinner, which was actually quite good, when someone came in.

It seemed to be a walking, talking vulpine. He walked on his hind legs, and he wore a flight jacket much like Slippy did. The frog seemed to look at the vulpine with a certain degree of admiration, and I could only wonder if they knew each other from somewhere else.

"I would like to visit Victor Halsmith" the vulpine said.

My heart dropped. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were all on Slippy and myself, and I wanted to sink through the floor. You'd think that two months of doing dangerous things for Andross would have made it easier for me to get used to all of this attention, but that was unfortunately not the case. If anything, knowing that I had been an enemy agent for so long made me _more_ nervous.

"Now, please, Victor" said the vulpine again.

Slippy and I both stood up and walked towards the fox.

"I am Fox McCloud, and I would like to talk to both of you in private. This is something pretty important I have to tell you guys. Will you please follow me?"

* * *

We followed Fox to another room, which looked like the office of the dean of students at Harvard. It wasn't like I got sent there often, or even at all, but Fox sat at the head of the table, with Slippy and me on the other side.

"You might not have heard of this", Fox said, "but Corneria has a new President. It's a seventeen-year-old boy, too".

 _A 17-year-old is President Of Corneria? Is this some kind of fucking JOKE?_ I thought.

"What is his name?" I asked.

"Lucas Zantry Enfield" said Fox. "I think that you should visit him. You are an important part of this war, Victor Halsmith, whether you would wish to be or not".

"So...President Enfield. What's he like?"

"He has a condition called Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. He has very intense interests, but he can be composed when he's the leader, which is definitely an important quality to have. The Secretary Of State is his ex-girlfriend, Willow Foster".

"That must be awkward" I said.

"Quite" Fox replied. "And, of course, there's something else. But...you used to work for Andross, Slippy told me?"

"That's right". I was kind of ashamed to admit it. Working with Andross wasn't something to be proud of, not in a million years.

"Okay, that makes you _extra_ important. Enfield needs to know that it's possible to turn some people from their side to ours, and that's something that we very much want. We were only barely able to repel the enemy forces from around this Katina base. If they come to attack Corneria...". He didn't finish the sentence, although I could tell that the answer was going to be nothing good.

"So...you want me to go to Corneria?" I asked.

"That is correct" said Fox. "You'll leave tomorrow, so I think you should pack for the trip. It'll be a day or two before you reach there".

"Sounds good" Slippy said.

It seemed that, so soon after finding a new home here on Katina, we were going to be uprooting and heading to Corneria. I'd found a home and lost it in just over twenty-four hours.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

Over the last week, we, that is to say, Willow and I, were meeting more and more cordially. While I couldn't say we were friends yet, I definitely considered us _allies._ After all, we had a common cause now, one that we hadn't had before.

Well, we did have a common cause in the Anglars. But now that thread was ended. Instead, we had to face something far more dangerous, something that was going to be far more difficult to defeat. However, it wasn't like we had no chance.

In addition, I kept taking the medication, including the anti-nausea meds, during that time. I was determined to beat my illness, and I didn't have to receive any more intravenous fluids, so I would count that as a win for Dr. Tuskland. That night had really been awful.

Dr. Howler told me that my cheeks were starting to look a little rosier, and that was more than a relief to me. It meant the _world_ to me.

I'd been sick of everyone fussing over me so much. I'd been sick of being treated like a teenager who still needed to be taken care of rather than a _President._ Granted, I was both of those things, but I considered myself, first and foremost, to be the President Of Corneria. I wanted to be treated as such.

Falco also seemed to be in a better mood. I was pretty sure that the first two weeks of his marriage to Dr. Howler had been a success, and that they weren't getting divorced, or even thinking about it, any time soon. In general, I had a pretty low view of marriage, since close to half of them end in divorce in America, but theirs seemed to be going well.

In spite of Dr. Howler saying that my cheeks looked rosier due to my health improving, if only by a little bit, I felt that there might have been another reason for that.

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lucas" Willow said as she shut the door.

We had just had a highly productive meeting, during which we had agreed to send more troops to Fichina, in order to defend the base there. We'd talked more productively than we had in months. Of course, we had not been speaking with each other for most of that period.

I sat back in my chair, looking out the window. I knew that it was a very beautiful summer day, but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to go outside as much, since I always needed to have security protecting me. There had apparently already been two plots to assassinate me ever since I'd moved into the Green House two weeks ago. I had to be more careful, and that was clear.

There was something else, however, that I didn't have a lot of clarity about. Ever since I'd gotten to meet her again, I was starting to feel attraction to her. The way her hair fell behind her shoulders, the way her blue eyes shone in the Cornerian sunlight...it looked pretty amazing.

I'd refused to accept it at first, thinking that I was still not over it yet. The more I thought about it, however, the more sense it made. There was no way around it.

I was falling in love with Willow Foster all over again.

* * *

It was hard to admit it to myself as I lay in bed that night, wishing to go to sleep. It had been a tiring day, and I needed rest to get over it. After all, in the words of Cage the Elephant, there ain't no rest for the wicked, and I didn't want to be wicked. I really did want to be a good person.

Of course, it was hard sometimes. Being President, it's easy to let all of that power get to your head. And that could lead people to do crazy, crazy things. But I was going to do my best not to be corrupt.

And yet, as I closed my eyes, trying not to get too sad about how Willow most likely did not love me back, I couldn't stop but have the feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

The night of July 3 found me, Willow, and Konstantin in the lab, working on a cure for Lucas. Willow knew that Lucas was sick, but Lucas didn't know that Willow knew. Hopefully, we could keep it that way.

"You know...I still care about him" Willow said.

"That's crazy" Konstantin said. "I mean, I'm 20 and I've never been in a romantic relationship, so I might not be too experienced here, but...do you _really_ want to be friends with your ex? That _never_ works out. As long as you see him regularly, you'll never be able to heal".

"That doesn't mean I can't not want him to die!" the girl from Maine insisted.

Konstantin was a little farther away from the Petri dishes than we were. In fact, he was at the door out of this room of the lab. Willow wasn't much of a scientist, which was why she had been chosen for Secretary Of State instead, but she was still appreciated.

"Still, though, I thought you hated him" I said, saying what I believed to be the truth.

"He doesn't deserve to die" she said. "We've actually been working together better, ever since the meeting we had four days after Lucas got sick".

"After he got sick? I thought you weren't talking to each other during that time!" Konstantin said.

"We weren't, until we got to the point that we actually needed to" Willow explained. "And it's especially important that we work on this cure, because...".

"Because of what?" I asked. "I mean, we know that it could be life or death for him, but what else is there besides that?"

Willow cleared her throat. "Dr. Howler told me that, during his first night as President, Lucas was throwing up so bad that she had to hook him up to an IV. Apparently, that was the third time that happened. We need to end this race to kill him, the race between the medications and the disease itself".

"Sounds like something that we should make a top priority, then" Konstantin said. "I'm on leave from the military for a week, so I'll see what I can do to help you guys. And tomorrow's the Fourth Of July. Should we have a celebration?"

"Konstantin, there's really not much to celebrate right now" Willow chided him.

It was true. The way things were going, July 4 wasn't going to be the festive holiday that it usually was. Konstantin was, of course, infamous for being so patriotic to the United States that it nearly cost him his life when the staff at the flight academy needed a scapegoat to pin the blame on for the Anglar infiltration.

Just then, there was a ring of the doorbell, which Konstantin ringed to go get.

"Here is a new piece of equipment" said the spaniel who greeted him at the door. He was toting a large box that looked very heavy.

"Thanks" Konstantin said. "What does it do?"

"I'm not sure, but apparently it will help you on your search".

 _That was weird,_ I thought. _How does he know about Lucas being sick?_

"Well, thanks" said the Texan as the spaniel left. Turning to us, he said, "Do you guys want to open it?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" I said excitedly. I wanted to get some kind of a breakthrough here. Anything to help save my buddy, Lucas.

Konstantin got out a knife and began to trace his way along the creases in the cardboard box. It was slow progress that he was making, but he was making _progress._ Finally, he opened the box.

"Oh, no" he said before running away.

"What is it?" I asked, but he was already beyond the door.

I looked into the box. The sight looked like some kind of bomb. According to the digital timer on its interface, it was going to explode in seven seconds.

"Let's run!" I yelled, and both of us bolted as quickly as we could. However, we weren't fast enough.

The bomb detonated, and both of us went flying. I hit the wall, and, sliding to the floor, I blacked out.

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

On the evening of July 3, we arrived back on Corneria. Fox and Slippy walked beside me, as if I needed protection as we left the Great Fox on the hangar near the Green House.

"So this is where President Enfield lives?" I asked. "It's very nice".

It _was_ nice. A large mansion, resembling the White House, was flanked by gardens, woods, and even a small lake. I felt jealous of the teenaged President after seeing it.

"Lucas does live here, he prefers to be called that" Fox said. "We're going to explain to him what has been going on with you. How does that sound?"

I was okay with that. For me, working with Andross was something that I now considered to be behind me, beneath me. I no longer had shame in talking about it, nor was I proud of it. I was able to be relatively detached when discussing it.

Just then, a teenaged boy came running up to me. He was Caucasian and very tall, and somewhat skinny. He had slightly long, light brown hair and light blue eyes. He looked at me with an interested expression.

"I've heard...are you Victor Halsmith?" he asked.

I saw no reason to deny it. After all, all available evidence pointed towards this being Lucas Enfield.

"Yes, I'm Victor. What would you like me to tell you?"

The younger boy looked at me sternly. "My...assistants will ask you the questions" he said, pointing towards the two people behind him. The boy-Lucas?- moved out of the way, allowing the other two to take his place.

One was a tall, navy blue man who looked like a tropical bird of some sort. The other was a Bengal tiger.

"I'm Falco Lombardi, and this is my wife, Tigre Howler. How did you come to work with Andross?"

I began to tell them my story.

"I was going to go to the Grey Clouds Flight Academy in order to train, but we got intercepted. I saw no choice but to work for him. Eventually, I escaped, and I've been with Slippy ever since".

I expected Falco to yell at me, maybe even shoot me right then and there with the very serious expression he held on his face. Instead, he looked a lot more sympathetic than he had expected.

"Sounds like you've been through a lot" he said. "Well, the good news is that you can still help us win the war. It's not too late to repent for what you have done wrongly. By the way, did our boss tell you his name yet?"

"I'm your boss?" said the younger boy. "That's pretty awesome".

Then, he turned to me. "I'm Lucas Enfield" he said.

"That's one cool name" I told him. "And you are the President Of Corneria now?"

"That is correct. And...". He didn't finish the sentence, reason being that Falco's phone rang. The bird picked it up, said, " _What?_ Oh, no, that's bad...yeah, I'll tell them straight away...make sure they know...this is important stuff".

Then, Falco hung up and turned to the rest of us. I had no idea what he was about to say, or what he'd been talking about with the person on the other end.

He said, "Willow and Ian were just at the lab, and they got hurt pretty badly. They're being taken to the hospital right now".

"What happened?" Lucas asked, his voice full of fear.

"A bomb was sent to the lab. We don't know who did, but we're going to go and visit them right now. Is that fine with you?"

"Yeah" the President said. He then turned to me. "Ian's a scientist at one of the labs here, and Willow's the Secretary Of State and my ex-girlfriend".

"What happened?" I asked him. Immediately, I knew that I had made a mistake.

"I don't like to talk about it" he said. "But I'm still visiting Ian there. Let's get going!"

As soon as Falco came back with the President's rental car, which the leader of Corneria was apparently entitled to use, he said, "I don't know how to drive a car! This is stupid".

He then turned to Lucas. "Tigre can't drive one, either. Lucas?"

"I never took Driver's Ed" he said. "Can't do it".

"Victor, then. We've got to get there!"

I went over to the driver's seat, which was on the same side of the car that it usually was in the U.S.. I drove them to the hospital, using directions that Falco gave me. Of course, I wasn't too familiar with everything here, given that I had only just arrived on Corneria for the first time. However, I did manage to get to the Cornerian General Hospital in only ten minutes.

* * *

 **KONSTANTIN'S POV**

Willow, Ian, and I were taken by ambulance to the hospital. However, I had only suffered minor injuries, a couple lacerations, as a result of being much further from the bomb than the other two had been. The paramedics were able to patch me up easily.

Not only that, but apparently the research that Ian and Willow had been working on was safe. The explosion hadn't taken out the Petri dishes, or the microscopes. Apparently, it was only humans that it was supposed to harm.

It was a very quick trip to the hospital. The lab was, in fact, part _of_ the hospital, connected to the rest of it by a bridge, including to the emergency room. It made no sense to me why the three of us weren't just carried there on stretchers, because that would most likely have been a lot quicker.

Ian and Willow remained unconscious the whole time we were being taken in. They had both received very large wounds on several different parts of their body, and blood was coming out pretty quickly.

All in all, it looked pretty bad. As soon as I was determined healthy enough to wait in the ER waiting room for the other two, I sat in a chair, waiting for the results of their examinations. I really, really wanted my friends to be okay, but they were losing a lot of blood.

* * *

At some point, Lucas, Falco, and Dr. Howler joined me in the waiting room. Apparently, they had just come from the Green House, bringing with them a lanky guy who looked to be around my age.

"I'm Victor Halsmith" he said, offering up his hand. I shook it, wondering who this new guy was.

"So...did you hear anything about Ian and Willow?" Falco asked me.

"I know nothing more than you do" I said. "Believe me, I wish that I did".

After that, a doctor came in. He was fairly tall, wearing a red suit. He looked at us with an expression that looked almost fatherly, something peculiar considering that he was a bear.

"You can come in now" he said. "I'll show you to their room in the ICU. We just got them settled into there, so you can see what happened".

* * *

In room 81C, we were led in to see our injured friends. The doctor let us in, and I was shocked at what I saw.

Both Ian and Willow were still unconscious. Not only that, but they were covered in bandages, which were still visible through the blue hospital gowns that both of them had been dressed in. Even then, it was easy to see that they were very much bruised by the bomb.

They also both had electrodes on their chest and head, in order to monitor their heart and brain activity, respectively. Each of them also had an IV in their arm and an oxygen mask over their face.

"Why do they have IVs?" Lucas asked.

The doctor looked at us seriously. "It's a precaution, just in case their wounds are getting infected, we're giving them antibiotics. Also, we're giving fluids to counteract the blood loss. They both have nasty concussions, but no signs of any real brain damage right now".

For a while, we just stood there, watching them breathe. Then, Dr. Howler asked the bear doctor a question. "How long do you anticipate their recovery to be?"

The bear frowned. "Pretty long. Ian Keller has a broken right leg and left arm, so we had to stick the IV in the right one. Willow's legs are both broken, so she's going to be in a wheelchair for a while. Luckily, medical technology is able to help them recover faster. As you can see, both of those legs are elevated right now, which is the way that they're going to stay until we determine that it's safe to have it be otherwise".

"And they're still unconscious?" Victor asked.

"Yeah. But we're going to have to just let them sleep as long as they need to, if you can call it sleep, in order to recover. We'll worry about physical therapy later".

After that, we all decided to go back to our respective apartments. The doctor had promised to call us when they woke up, so we could just come back then. It could be a few hours, a few days, maybe even a few weeks from now. The only thing the doctor had been able to assure us of was that they _would_ wake up eventually.

I got back to my apartment, but I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. Luckily, since I was on leave from the military for the week, I could visit as much as I wanted to. That meant the world to me.

* * *

Two days later, I found myself visiting the hospital again, as I had each day since they had been admitted. Both Ian and Willow had yet to wake up, and I was starting to get seriously worried about them.

I voiced my concerns about this to the doctor, who took them seriously.

"Truth be told, Konstantin, if they don't wake up within the next couple of days, I do think that we _could_ be looking at brain damage from the explosion. I am hoping that their bodies just need the rest, and they'll wake up on their own soon, but the fact of the matter is that I just don't know".

So we were just waiting there until one of the heart monitors started to beep more loudly.

"Is it flatlining?" Lucas asked. "Do you need to get a crash cart or something?"

"No", the doctor said, "it's good news".

Looking at the bed, I saw Ian's thin body begin to move. He was slowly opening his eyes, although it must have been an effort, given how long he had been out for.

"There you go, Ian, open those eyes".

Ian blinked a couple times, before he tried to say something. The oxygen mask on his face muffled it quite a bit, but I got the gist of what he was saying.

"What...happened...".

"There was an explosion at the lab the day before yesterday" Falco said. "You and Willow were hurt, and now you're in the hospital".

Ian moved his arm, making like he was going to hit a call button or something.

"Don't move your arm too much" Lucas said. "There's a drip in there, and you don't want to disconnect the heart monitor. It's helping you get better, and you need to get better right now. Don't you want to help fight Andross?"

"I...want...to..." Ian said sleepily.

We tried to get Ian to say something else, in order to help him to stay awake, but he went back to sleep again.

"He still needs some sleep to recover" said the bear doctor, who had just come back into the room, "but once he's awake, there will be some physical therapy. He hasn't moved for two days, but he can't use crutches well with his arm in a cast. And it'll be that way for two weeks".

"Oh" I said.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

The next day, Ian was awake again. After determining that he was breathing pretty well on his own, they took the oxygen mask off. Then, they told him that he was going to have to do some physical therapy. His arm had been set pretty well due to the medical technology, but he was still pretty weak on his other limbs.

"I'll do it" he said.

And so Ian, IV now out, began physical therapy on his uninjured arm. Since he couldn't use crutches, he was still in the wheelchair, but he seemed to be making progress towards getting better.

And yet, there was also even more good news.

Willow was awake.


	7. More Old Wounds

**WILLOW'S POV**

I woke up in a hospital bed, wondering just how I had gotten there. I was pretty sure that I remembered being in an explosion of some sort, but I wasn't quite sure what had caused it.

I saw my ex-boyfriend, Lucas, sitting in a chair next to my bed. Lucas...yes, he was President Enfield of Corneria. What was he doing here?

"Hey, Willow" he said, noticing that I was awake again.

He leaned over to look at me, and I noticed just how blue his eyes were. "What happened?" I asked.

"Bomb got sent to you guys" Lucas replied. "You ran away as far as you could, and you've been unconscious for three days. There is some physical therapy in order for you, I know that much. How are you feeling?"

I decided to be as snarky as possible. After all, it wasn't like he was my boyfriend any more.

"Like I don't want to end up in another explosion any time soon".

Lucas laughed, the first time I had heard him do so in a long time...probably since we had broken up back in March.

This made me feel conflicted inside again. I wasn't sure if I still hated Lucas, or if the possibility that I had not allowed myself to consider was coming back.

* * *

Over the next few days of physical therapy, I never forgot what I was thinking. I wished that I could have just focused on the arm exercises (I was still in my wheelchair when I wasn't in bed), but I also had my own feelings to contend with.

When we had first broken up back in late March, after Lucas had been appointed as Corneria's new Vice President, I had figured that there was no way that I could stop hating him. After all, he'd been the one to kill Jack Novsky, the weapons expert who had helped us so much in the last war. I knew that it hadn't been his fault, but the truth was that I was still afraid of him. Would he become abusive towards me?

Because of this, I'd been forced to break up with him. At first, avoiding him was easy. He was only sitting in a chamber right next to the Senate as the VP, but once he had become President I was forced to face my inner demons once again, face the fact that Lucas Zantry Enfield was the new President Of Corneria.

Our first meeting, with me as Secretary Of State, had devolved into a shouting match between the two of us. I wasn't happy about it, but that had just been what had happened. After hearing just how sick he had been lately, however, I had started to feel more sympathetic towards him. And, although I didn't like to consider the possibility, as I considered it highly embarrassing, I faced the fact that it looked like I just might be falling in love with Lucas again.

The second night after I had woken up, I knew that I had to confess. He was right in the room with me, and it just felt like the perfect time. He was lying in his chair beside my bed, looking like he was about to fall asleep, when I decided to say it.

"Lucas?" I asked him.

He snapped out of it. "What is it, Willow? What would you like to say?"

I had to time it right. "Um...I still love you".

I was expecting him to snap, to yell like a maniac, which would probably make me have a seizure. What I did _not_ expect was for him to take my hand in his own and say "Me too".

Both of us cried for a while after that. We'd had that secret that we'd been holding in for so long, and to have finally told each other was a pretty big relief.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

For the next few days, Willow was still in the hospital and doing physical therapy. After seeing that I was sleeping in the chairs next to her bed every night, the doctor gave me a mattress on the floor once she was moved out of the ICU and into a private room.

This room was fully funded by myself, because I was now very wealthy as a result of being President. In the United States, the President only earned $400,000 a year, which never made sense to me. After all, the CEO of a _company_ can make more money than the CEO of an entire country. That just seemed backwards to me.

Neither of us forgot what I had said to her. After three months of animosity towards each other, it really did seem that we were moving a step forward in what we thought about each other. It wasn't so much a _step_ as it was a giant leap.

Once Willow was released from the hospital, having been in there for a little more than a week, I was allowed to help her get set up in her apartment again. We'd professed our love to each other once again, but this time, Falco and Dr. Howler didn't know anything about it. They both thought that I was just doing my job, helping my Secretary Of State get back to doing what she had to do with her job.

We hailed a taxi back to Willow's apartment building.

"I live in apartment 448" Willow said. "It's on the fourth floor".

I nodded, punching in the button for the fourth floor. I would normally have taken the stairs, just to get a tiny bit of exercise, but Willow was still in a wheelchair, so I couldn't really do that. That would ruin the whole point of loving each other again.

We took the elevator up to her apartment, and she told me the directions to her room. We opened the door, and I was impressed by what I saw.

The apartment Willow Foster now inhabited was not as fancy as the Green House, or even the one I had lived in as Vice President. However, it was still pretty awesome. There weren't any stairs, but there were several paintings of Christian art in the halls and the ceiling. There was a decent bit of gold there, but she also had two bedrooms off to the side, and a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a decent-sized living room. The living room had several game systems in it.

"I'm trying to get better at video games" she said. "That's why...so many systems. But I spend most of my time at the Senate meetings, or doing something else".

"Would you like me to help you with something else?" I asked her. I wanted to be as helpful as possible.

"There _is_ one thing" she said. "Is it okay if you would stay the night with me? I've been kind of lonely, and you've always been having Falco and Dr. Howler with you...".

"It's fine" I said. "How about I stay until you fall asleep, but then I'll go. It'll look pretty suspicious if I'm out all night, but I'll be back there in time to take my medication and have a _very_ late dinner. Of course I'll stay with you".

"Good" Willow said.

It was getting pretty late, so she was already just about ready to go to bed. "Stay with me, please?"

"I will" I said, trying not to let my voice break. I was so happy to be reunited with something I didn't know I had missed.

Just like I had promised, I stayed with Willow until her grip relaxed in mine, signifying that she had fallen asleep. Once that had happened, I made sure that she wasn't going to wake up until morning, not by drugging her, but by tucking her in a little more. I'm sure that, had she been awake, she would not have appreciated it that much, but I kind of liked the way she looked right now.

She didn't look like the Secretary Of State. She looked like Willow Foster.

* * *

I got back to the Green House around ten, and Dr. Howler was still awake. So was Falco.

"Where have you been?" she asked me indignantly. "You were supposed to escort Willow Foster to her apartment, and be back thirty minutes ago. You're late for dinner, you're late for your medication...you're late for everything, so you'd better have a _damn_ good reason".

"Willow needed a little more help than we'd thought" I said, trying not to betray too much.

"I can tell that there's more to the story than that" she said, narrowing her eyes. "Were you...".

"Fine. I helped her get into bed, and I stayed with her until she fell asleep. Are you happy now?"

"Are you guys back together or something?" Falco asked curiously.

I looked at him. "Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I'm just surprised given how...acrimonious your breakup was. Now that you're together again...". He trailed off, allowing his wife to finish the sentence.

"This might sound crazy, Lucas, but once your girlfriend has recovered, we're thinking of having you guys explain what's been going on to your parents back in Maine".

That _did_ sound crazy. My parents, as well as Willow's, had sold us into what was essentially military servitude at the Grey Clouds Flight Academy. Because of this, it would be more than accurate to say that I was feeling more than a little bitterness towards them.

"Why?" I asked.

"They're your parents" she said simply.

The way Dr. Howler was saying it, she sounded kind of persuasive. I decided that I liked the other version of Dr. Howler better. I didn't want Tigre Howler to turn into Piper McLean.

But still, it was pretty hard to resist her. And maybe she was right. Maybe, now that we had defeated the Anglars, and also had Andross to worry about, it was time to revisit some old wounds. My parents weren't the top two people I wanted to see right now, not even close, but it might be good just to talk to them and see where they were coming from.

"Sure" I said. "Once Willow's recovered, let's make the trip. How are we going to get back to Swanville?"

"We'll take the warp in the sky, over the academy" said Dr. Howler. "That's the best way. The warp in Meteo leads to Argentina, and the one in Sector X leads to Cartagena, so there's really no other way to get there. Are you feeling up to the trip?"

I nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be".

* * *

 **VICTOR'S POV**

Over the next few days, I lived in one of the guest bedrooms of the Green House. Even with this, I rarely saw Lucas. He always seemed absorbed in his own thing, and there was no doubt that he was a very busy guy now.

It wasn't just his normal Presidential work that he was doing. He also went over to visit Willow Foster, two miles across town, almost every day. This surprised me, as I had been told that they were exes. Were they getting back together? Were they still friends or something?

Even though I had never been in a romantic relationship before, I was against being friends with an ex. I am of the opinion that, as long as you regularly see the other person, you'll never be able to truly heal. It's just not going to work out in the long run.

Of course, however, if Lucas still wanted to see his ex-girlfriend, that was his business, not mine. I wasn't going to stop him. If Lucas wanted to help her recover from her wounds, that was okay by me, more than okay. She did need to heal from the explosion that had nearly cost her her life.

I'd never had a girlfriend, and didn't feel the need to get one anytime soon. I'd always been the designated "nerd", a title that I never disputed, and was actually quite proud of. I couldn't say that I was jealous of Lucas, even though Willow did seem like a pretty awesome girl from what I'd seen of her.

* * *

A week after leaving the hospital, by which time it was July 15, Willow was deemed healthy enough to go to the warp zone by Dr. Howler. As a result, we all got on the Great Fox, and took off into the air.

"We are going to need somebody to shoot down the warp gates to get to Swanville" said Falco. "Who do you think we should send out, Tigre?"

"I say Victor and Konstantin" she said. "I know that Victor isn't to experienced, but Konstantin is definitely going to be able to help him out with that. What do you think, Konstantin?"

"I'll do it" said the young Texan man. "It's pretty easy to shoot down the gates".

"Very well, then" said the Bengal tiger. "Shoot down those gates, guys!"

* * *

Konstantin showed me the way to get down to the ships. Then, we looked at each other, sizing up the situation.

One of us had been wrongly convicted of working for the Venomians. The other one had _actually_ worked with the Venomians. It was clear to both of us which one was which, and yet there did not seem to be any animosity between us.

"Let's go out and get it done" Konstantin said, to which I nodded. I wasn't that confident in an Arwing, but Konstantin told me that he would mainly be the one to focus on the targets. This relieved me to no small degree.

We got in our ships and immediately entered the shimmering landscape that looked kind of like it was underwater. Truth be told, it was pretty cool. We came across plenty of gates, which we had to just shoot open.

Like he had promised me, Konstantin got most of them, while I only had to provide backup on a few occasions when he missed. I was very much grateful for this, because, like I said, my first attempt at flying had pretty much been a complete disaster.

"We're almost there!" he said. "How are you holding up, Victor?"

"It's going great" I said. "Swanville, Maine, huh?"

"Yeah" Konstantin replied. "That's where Lucas and Willow lived before...all of this happened. Are you looking forward to seeing it?"

I nodded. "Very much so".

* * *

We got back on the Great Fox, and then Dr. Howler explained that we were going to dock the Great Fox here before Lucas and Willow would go and talk to their parents. Then, we would get back to our ship and go back to Corneria. The fact remained that Lucas Enfield and Willow Foster were both pretty much independent of their parents at this point.

Once we reached what Dr. Howler called the docking bay, we were at what seemed to be some kind of asphalt surface. There was a sliver of light at the end of a tunnel, beyond which came the smell of pine trees.

"This is it" Lucas said. "My old hometown".

He sounded bitter, like this was a place of bad memories. Which I suppose it was, if his parents had really sold him to the flight academy the way he had claimed they did.

"Let's go through, shall we?" Willow asked, grabbing Lucas's hand in her own. She no longer needed to be in a wheelchair, and she looked to be pretty much back to normal. Her holding hands with Lucas was pretty much confirmation that they were back together.

And then, the eight of us walked through the tunnel.

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

We were back in the human world again. There was no mistaking it.

The eight of us had emerged on the side of a small hill that cut through one of the parks in the small town that I grew up in. This hill was also known as Jackson Hill, and it was fairly steep. Hopefully, no one would notice the gaping hole and end up in another dimension.

This park was very forested, with pine trees several times taller than my house. In addition, fallen leaves littered the ground, despite the fact that it was the middle of summer. I almost wanted to break out singing that song "Fallen Leaves" by Billy Talent, but I didn't think that would be too appropriate for the moment.

"This is where you grew up, Willow?" Falco asked me.

Cole and Ian were looking at me, expecting an answer. Even though I'd grown up here, I didn't like to think of it too much. That was how I had coped, initially, with the fact that my parents had sold me to some extraterrestrial military training academy. But denial only went so far.

"Yes" I said. "This is Swanville, Waldo County, Maine. What do you think of it?"

"Not much" Ian said. "It's just woods so far. Can you show us to where you used to live? We have to talk with your parents, after all, explain what's been going on. Do you forgive them for sending you over there?"

I weighed the question. "That depends on what they say to me today. But you can rest assured that I'm not going to let my forgiveness go to them without hearing what they have to say. And it sure as hell had better be good".

* * *

It wasn't a long walk to my house, only half a mile or so. Even though I tired more easily than usual, as did Ian, the walk only took about ten or fifteen minutes.

Once we reached my home, I rung the doorbell, waiting nervously.

Even before I'd been sold to the Grey Clouds Flight Academy, I hadn't had the best relationship with my family. My biological father had died of a heart attack when I was twelve, and my mother had remarried to a man named Kyle Jackson. I had mixed feelings about him.

Kyle wasn't abusive or anything, I just wasn't the biggest fan of him. Perhaps I had felt that nobody could replace my _real_ father. Unlike most adoptees, I could _remember_ my birth father. As for my siblings, things were different.

I have a younger sister named Olive (age 6), and a younger brother named August (age 4). I didn't talk to them too much, mainly because, when you have an age gap of nearly eleven years, it's kind of hard to relate to your siblings.

Just when I thought the door was never going to open, my stepfather came out.

* * *

Kyle had lost some weight from the last time I'd seen him. His graying hair had turned more and more gray, and he was growing even more of a beard. Other than that, he looked pretty much the same.

"Willow! It's been so long since I'd seen you...I am _so_ sorry for everything!"

" _Sorry_ doesn't cut it" I said testily. "You sold me to the Grey Clouds Flight Academy, don't deny it. Why did you do it? There had better be one hell of a good reason for that".

Kyle looked nervous now. "We were struggling financially...they were going to shoot down the whole town!"

"Wait... _what?_ " Lucas asked.

"That's right" my stepfather said, staring down at the welcome mat. "The person who came with the offer said that he'd destroy Swanville if we didn't sell you. I wish I hadn't had to do that, but you always have a home with us if you want".

"That's fine" I replied. "I'm Secretary Of State in Corneria now, and I think I'm old enough not to live with you guys anymore. I still love you and all that, I just can't _live_ with you any more. You understand that, right?"

"Of course I do" he said. "You're going to be seventeen next month, and I'm surprised that you rose to the top that soon. What happened?"

"We won a war" I told him.

" _The_ war" Cole replied. "The very war that we were sent there to defeat. I didn't introduce myself, by the way. The name's Cole McCallen".

"I'm Ian" said Ian.

Konstantin, Falco, Victor, and Dr. Howler introduced themselves as well. As Lucas already knew my parents, due to the fact that we had been dating for a short time before our being sent to the academy, there was no need for us to introduce him.

"Is Willow back?" said a voice that I recognized as my mother.

"Yes, she is!" Kyle said excitedly.

My mother embraced me in a hug. "It's so nice to see you again. And are these your new friends?"

"Yes, they are" I said.

Just then, Lucas looked my mother in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jackson. I never meant to make your daughter cry".

"What does he mean? Did you guys break up?" Kyle asked.

"We did" Lucas said. "Last week, we got back together. It's a really long story, but we really do need to head to my parents' house now. Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yes" my mother said. "You are welcome to come back whenever you'd like. Go, and explain to Mrs. Enfield what has been going on".

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

It was painful seeing my parents again. Apparently, our house had been at risk of being put under foreclosure, so they'd been desperate for money. Other than that, they'd had the same reasons for selling me as Willow's parents had, which I supposed was what I had been expecting.

I declined to inform them that I was ill, however. I didn't want to cause them all of that pain, even though I still felt a great degree of resentment towards them. That was just the way I was feeling.

"It's so nice to see him again" my mom said. "Isn't it, Ken?"

"Absolutely, Leyla. I'd like to hear how you guys have been doing".

"Well, we won the war. But there's another one" I said.

My mother looked at me with a sad look. "You're welcome here whenever you want".

"I understand" I replied. "But I can't do it. I'm President Of Corneria now".

My parents both looked at me sadly now. I knew that they didn't want to send me back to that alternate dimension, but they didn't have a choice. More accurately, _I_ didn't have a choice. And, as nice as it might have been to imagine living back in Maine again, it just didn't seem like that was meant to be.

"I love you" I said. "Both of you. But we have to be going now" I said.

I will never forget the look on my parents' faces as we were walking away from my childhood home, and they were simply waving after us, knowing that there was nothing they could do to stop us from leaving.

* * *

 **KONSTANTIN'S POV**

"So how do I attack?" Willow asked me.

"Just press the A button when you're close to me, and hold the control stick when you're trying to do a smash attack and send me out of the ring" I told her.

I was teaching Willow how to play _Super Smash Bros. Brawl,_ something that brought back good memories for me. It really did make me think about when we hadn't been taking part in life-threatening battles, and we would often hang out in the rec room and play video games while Lucas and Willow would go off to dance.

Even though I did cream her, not surprising considering that I had far more practice, Willow put up a surprisingly good fight. And it was my pleasure to teach another person to play what was probably one of my favorite Nintendo games.

After that, it was time for dinner.

"We're not actually going back to Corneria" Falco said.

"Why not?" Ian asked.

"We are going to take part and help in a battle on Fichina" Dr. Howler told us. "We'll probably get there tomorrow, thanks to the boosters that Jack installed".

I could see that Lucas wasn't pleased when Dr. Howler mentioned the name of our former weapons expert. After Lucas had been injected with a drug that had a similar effect to the Imperius Curse from the _Harry Potter_ books, he'd been forced to kill Jack Novsky. This had been the catalyst for his breakup with Willow, who had been scared of him as a result. Personally, I felt that this was a good reason for her to dump him, but now they were together again.

Still, though, I knew that it brought back bad memories.

In addition, the fact that we were going back to Fichina didn't exactly make me feel giddy either. After all, we had lost three of our team members there, and almost lost Lucas. We had kind of recovered from that, considering that we'd still been able to defeat the Anglars, but that didn't change the fact that it wasn't an ideal situation.

It was a relief when dinner disbanded and I was able to go back to my quarters, trying to get to sleep with all of these dark thoughts in my mind.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

I didn't exactly have the best memories of Fichina either.

We'd lost Mike and Will there, as well as Mrs. Hooter, at the hand of Wolf O'Donnell, who had also given me a pretty good laser wound to the leg. I'd needed two blood transfusions on that occasion, but I had recovered quickly. It wasn't like I was eager to repeat the experience.

After dinner, I went to my quarters on the Great Fox, hoping that I wouldn't have any nightmares this time. They had plagued me quite often during the war against the Anglars, and I often wished that they would just go away. Of course, it wasn't that easy. Things never were.

I got into bed and closed my eyes.

* * *

I was in the middle of a rushing, very hot river. It was then that I realized where I was.

I was on the red planet, Titania. And, for whatever reason, the dream had taken me here. Like some kind of ghost, I floated up and out of the river and through the air. It was pretty cool, until I realized where I was heading.

The next thing I knew, I was in a fortress that looked pretty daunting. There was a lot of scientific equipment lying around, and I knew that this would be something that we had to work against. _How_ I knew, I wasn't a hundred percent sure, but I was pretty sure that this was a fortress of the enemy.

"Andrew, use the tickling feather on McCloud".

I looked up, knowing that I didn't want to see it, but my eyes didn't seem to be deceiving me.

Hanging from the wall by chains, much like Jack Novsky had been during one of our battles on Titania, was Fox McCloud. He'd evidently ended up on Titania, and now he had been captured by the enemy.

Looking around, I also saw Andross and Pigma. I was grateful that they couldn't see me, because that would have made things far scarier than they needed to be.

"So...what's the plan?" Pigma Dengar asked Andross.

"Seven days" the monkey scientist said. "If Enfield doesn't show up, that is. Otherwise, we're going to have to kill him. He's way too big of a threat".

Okay. So they considered Fox McCloud a threat. This was nothing new, of course. However, the fact that they had captured him was definitely something that unnerved me.

Andross then looked at me, although I was sure that he couldn't see me.

"Seven days, Lucas Zantry Enfield. If not, McCloud dies".


	8. Rescue

**At this point, I had started Four Seasons, so I was kind of over it already. Still, I hope you will enjoy this chapter. It's really short for what it is, with two battles, but, like I said, this wasn't an easy chapter to write. I know that there will be longer chapters in the story, though.**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

I woke up in my own bed on the Great Fox, sweating like a beast. How could I not have been, when I knew, somehow _knew,_ that my dream had been real? Andross had captured Fox McCloud and was holding him hostage on Titania.

"Hey, Lucas" said the voice of Dr. Howler from outside my door.

"Come in" I said, not caring what state she found me in.

"I brought you your medication, so take it before breakfast. Is there anything you want to tell me? It sounded like you were having a nightmare".

"Yes" I said. "I have some bad news for you. Fox has been captured by Andross".

"Where is he?" the Bengal tiger asked me. The doctor had learned to trust our dreams, in that they were foretelling real-life events, after Konstantin dreamed of plans to shoot me on Fichina, which had ended up working, although not as well as they had been planning.

"He's on Titania" I told her. "We need to go and save him".

"Very well, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "At breakfast, we'll talk about it with the others".

* * *

At the table, there was a clear division in terms of who supported going to Titania to save Fox.

"We only have seven days? We should probably do it right after Fichina, then" Cole said. He seemed to be an advocate for me in this conversation, something I was more than grateful for. I knew that my dream was correct, so I needed as many people on my side as I could possibly have.

"Are you sure it's not just a trap?" Ian asked. "I mean, Andross is _infamous_ for his traps!"

"It could be, for all I know" I said. "But don't we have a moral obligation to at least _try_? Fox's life might be counting on us. And, if not, we could at least take or destroy the base".

"He has a good point" Willow said, reaching for my hand, on which I planted a quick kiss.

"So you guys are together again" Ian observed.

"I thought you already knew that" Konstantin replied. "It's in the news".

Konstantin took out a newspaper, on top of which was the headline: _STAR ENFIELD COUPLE BACK TOGETHER? EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS SHOW THAT LUCAS ENFIELD MAY BE DATING WILLOW FOSTER AGAIN._

"Well, I don't really read the Cornerian newspaper" Ian replied. "Really, we should just talk about tomorrow. Falco, what's our strategy for this battle?"

"We're going to go to Fichina, and we'll talk about it once we're there. Really, it's mostly figured out. On the other hand, it's important to decide what we're doing about Fox. Personally, I'm all for saving him".

"I am as well" I said.

Konstantin looked at the rest of us seriously. "In my dream back on Fichina, I saw them plotting to kill Lucas. We lost three members of our team that day, and we might have lost Lucas as well had I not had that dream. I think we have good reason to believe that the dream is true now, so we might as well go and get him".

Ian was still against it, but Cole and Willow were still for it. I was glad about that. Like I said, I knew that the dream accurately reflected reality, and that Fox had been captured by Andross. However, it was very true that we had today's battle to focus on.

In a way, it was just like old times. Now that I had Willow Foster back by my side again, who knew what we were capable of?

* * *

 **COLE'S POV**

The next day, we arrived on Fichina. During breakfast, we mainly focused on fine-tuning our plans for the battle, since it had been about four months since the last time we had been in one. I was nervous as hell, to tell the truth.

This time, Victor, Konstantin, and I were going to be on the ground. Each of us wore a flight suit and had a blaster. Lucas, Ian, Willow, and Falco were all going to be providing air support for the battle, flying in the Arwings. I didn't necessarily think this plan was airtight, but it could definitely work.

As soon as we got out of the Great Fox, we found ourselves in the middle of another battle. Enemies were all over the place, fighting to take the base from us. I knew that the Cornerian army had a low probability of winning the war should they lose the base, so I focused all of my attention on shooting the enemies.

"Let's go!" Victor yelled, spamming blaster fire. I knew that the young man who had formerly worked with Andross was now determined to work against him, considering the fact that he had a lot of grievances against the monkey, and felt the need to repent for what he had done.

There were droids running all over the place, as well as several other types of enemies. Shooting like a maniac, I was able to short-circuit some of the robots. This battle was going by pretty quickly, and we were already winning.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

"Let's take down this ship, Lucas!"

It felt good to be back in an Arwing, having pretty much recovered fully from the blast. I felt like a natural at this, even though it had been less than half a year since I had started flying. This was quite something, to be sure.

And yet, I knew that we couldn't get complacent. What looked like a huge mother ship was approaching.

"Let's get the core, Ian!" Willow shouted at me. She was aiming her lasers, I saw, at an orange button-like thing on the bottom of the ship. The ship was humming dully, but it was still very clear to hear the sounds of the battle below us. It served as a reminder of what was at stake.

I trained my crosshairs on the orange button and detonated a smart bomb. I knew that if we could get the mother ship to crash, a lot of the enemies on the ground would flee, and we could take back the base easily. It wasn't going to be a difficult battle to win.

Keeping an eye on the shield gauge the whole time, I made sure to shoot at the orange button as much as I could. Truth be told, I was pretty detached as I was shooting at it, mainly worried about something entirely different, namely the mission that we were going to undertake tomorrow. The mission to save Fox McCloud.

Eventually, we did manage to destroy the mother ship. It fell to the ground, not able to stay in the air any longer from all of the punishment it had been given. Once that was done, we only had to aim at the enemies on the ground.

The battle was over, almost as soon as it had began.

"We did it!" Falco cried. "We took back Fichina!"

That battle had sure been quick, I thought. It was easy, almost too easy.

However, I was not going to complain about that. We were heading back to the Great Fox now, for yet another strategy meeting. It sure seemed like we had been having a lot of those lately.

* * *

None of us had gotten injured in the battle, thankfully, so we all gathered in the dining hall in order to discuss our plans for Titania.

"We're going to land right by the river?" Konstantin asked. "Like we did last time?"

I remembered that river. The water was very hot, and if Fox was not in a condition to swim across it, one or two of us was going to have to carry him. I wasn't looking forward to that task, especially since I'm not exactly the king of physical strength.

"Yes" Falco replied. "Andross has built a new fortress on the red planet, meaning that we are going to have to be very careful about what we do there. No doubt, there will be a lot of enemies we will have to face, and I don't know if this is the best idea".

"It's not" Dr. Howler said. "But I'm going to stay on the Great Fox, as always. I'm going to make sure that we can treat any people who get injured. Fox is likely to be hurt as well".

I nodded at that. I remembered just how bad off Konstantin had been after having been locked in the mountain prison for four days with no food or water. If _Fox_ was getting tortured by Andross...I didn't want to think about that.

* * *

That night, I lay awake in bed for a while. I couldn't get the fact that we were about to have yet another battle the day after tomorrow out of my head. It had seemed like, even though Andross had risen, not much of anything had happened. As a matter of fact, things could not have been further from the truth.

We had been thrust back into our old way of life, whether we liked it or not. I would have liked to remain a scientist for the rest of my life, but the way things had been going, it wasn't going to happen.

Eventually, after much tossing and turning, I managed to get to sleep, praying that I wouldn't have a nightmare.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

Andross's new base had been built in the same place as the old base, right across the hot river. It was about half a mile from the bank, but the ground was defended so well that there was just no way we could possibly have landed anywhere closer. It would have been far too dangerous, and we'd be at risk of getting shot by an enemy.

We braced ourselves, because the river was not a comfortable temperature to swim in. It wasn't even like a hot tub, it was more like when you turn on the water for a bath and it turns out to be much, _much_ too hot for your liking. This was what it was like.

We all jumped in, careful to keep our blasters held above our heads. If we dropped them, even on accident, the water was likely to short-circuit them, rendering them unable to perform their basic function. Needless to say, we didn't want that.

"Are you ready to rescue Fox, Falco?" I asked the bird.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Falco responded, trying to keep his head above the water.

We made it to the other side, before beginning to make our way towards the fortress. It was certainly imposing, a very noticeable presence on the desert landscape. Our wet clothes were quick to dry off in the arid, scorching air.

"Here it is" Victor said. "I heard about the construction of this fortress during, you know, my time with Andross".

We didn't really hold it against Victor, but I could tell that he didn't like to talk about it, not in front of us at least.

"Let's go in" Cole said.

* * *

At first, things went well enough. The first few hallways, which were white in color with black rectangular patches in the middle, were completely devoid of enemies. The Anglars had pretty much been decimated, but there was no telling what other enemies there might be.

"Everybody stay alert!" Falco shouted.

"Why did you have to shout that?" Willow said irritably. Looking ahead, I saw that some flying droids were heading towards us, but they were quickly dispatched by Cole's blaster. I remembered just how skilled he had been with it back during the war against the Anglars, and how happy I was that we had him on our side now.

We were continuing our way through the base, shooting down all of the droids that we saw, until we reached a map. This map showed the entire first floor of the base, as well as parts of the second and third. It was plain to see, based on this map, that the fortress had been built to be difficult to navigate. It was more like Boston than New York City in that respect, in that New York City's streets are specifically numbered, while Boston is basically just a maze of marshes, highways, and office buildings.

"He's on the third floor" I said. I didn't know how I knew that, just that I did.

Ian looked skeptical, as did Konstantin. Falco, on the other hand, said "We have to trust Lucas's instincts. We could be very, very wrong, but the third level is just as good a guess as any other. Let's start there".

The two boys mentioned above grumbled a bit, but we began running up the stairs, looking for Fox. I desperately hoped that he was still alive.

* * *

As it turned out, the third floor was _big._ So big, in fact, that it was difficult to narrow down the exact room. However, based on my dream I had a pretty good guess of where Fox was being held, so that was what we had to go on.

It wasn't the best lead, but it was better than nothing.

We found, and faced, quite a few more droids. I saw Cole kick some, while Ian continued to use his haymaker on a few more. Meanwhile, Willow was using her blaster to its fullest potential. I only hoped that she didn't misfire and hit me, because I'd had enough of laser wounds back on Fichina. I wasn't eager to repeat that experience, thank you very much.

"I think he's in here" Victor said. "I can kind of just feel it".

I was a little skeptical of this, which you wouldn't think I would be. After all, I'd just trusted a dream I had had, that Fox was going to be there. What reason did I have to do so?

Eventually, we ran into what looked like a tall brown monkey in a labcoat. It was instantly completely clear whom this was.

It was Andross.

* * *

"Ah, the son of Ken Enfield!" Andross laughed.

"There's no time for games" I said. "What have you done with Fox McCloud?"

"Why do you think I would tell you that?" he said.

"We really do need to save him" Falco said. I'm sure that Falco knew there was no pleading with the mad scientist. After all, there was pretty much nothing Andross stood to gain from cooperating with us.

"Don't press him, Falco" Cole said. "I'm sure that...".

"Victor Halsmith" Andross crooned. "You are brave, or _stupid,_ enough to come here again, after abandoning me".

Victor paled visibly. I knew that he couldn't be feeling happy about the current situation, not at all. Running right into his former master.

"I don't work for you anymore" he said angrily. "I serve Star Enfield, and Star Enfield only!"

Without hesitating, at least on the outside, Andross pulled out his blaster and shot Victor in the chest. The youth who had used to work with Andross, Victor Halsmith, crumpled to the ground. He was dead.

"What did you do?" Falco yelled.

"He had to be eliminated" Andross said simply. "He deserted me, and I do not take kindly to that. Now, go and get Fox McCloud. He's right in that room".

I was, once again, a little skeptical of what Andross had to say right here. He had no reason to say anything like that, except maybe to deceive us, probably what he was doing right now. On the other hand, there might be some other reason that I hadn't been thinking about.

As we left Victor to lie there, dead, we strode ahead into the room Andross had pointed out. Everyone else seemed to be following him, and no one noticed a certain _something_ else.

It was that, as we were leaving, Andross fired a bullet that hit me in the arm.

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

I was the only person walking behind Lucas, and I could see the bullet hit his arm. I knew that he wouldn't have wanted to let anyone know that, though, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Even so, it took everything I had to do so. I cared so much about Lucas, even more now that I had broken up with him and now gotten back with him again. I didn't want to lose him again, but I feared that if we abandoned this mission to treat his wound, this might be something that ate at him forever. This was another thought that I just couldn't allow to happen to him.

We went into the room, and immediately I saw Fox McCloud hanging, unconscious, on the wall, much the same way that Jack Novsky had been on that occasion in the first war that we'd been on Titania. I knew that we were going to have to cut down those chains, while hopefully not getting shot at by any enemies.

"I'll help you cut the chains, Willow!" said Cole. We all seemed to be pretty numb to Victor's death, probably from the adrenaline we had. Of course, that might change once we were safely back on the Great Fox.

"On the count of three!" I yelled, hoisting my blaster up and aiming at the chains.

"Let's do it!"

We both shot at the chains, which immediately released. Fox's limp body fell to the ground, and he showed no signs of revival from hitting the cold, hard floor of the base.

"We need a stretcher!" Falco said. He looked around, and immediately found a panel that might do, on the wall. After working to get it off, he said, "You know, my wife isn't the only paramedic on the Star Enfield team".

Once we had Fox on the makeshift stretcher, we began to work our way out of the base.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

It wasn't too hard to get out, although I did have to resist the urge to shoot Andrew Oikonny when I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I knew that getting him would take up valuable time, and that our number one priority at the moment was escape, but I still hated the ape. He'd injected me with the agent that was slowly killing me. Not only that, but his forcing me to kill Jack Novsky had destroyed my relationship with Willow, albeit temporarily.

"This is like the time you got me out of the cell on Corneria?" Konstantin said, either asking a question or confirming something.

"Yes" Falco said. "Except that all the enemies were unconscious from Mrs. Hooter's arrows. Now, come on. We've got to get out of here!"

As we made our way back down to the first floor, I saw that there were a surprisingly low number of enemy droids. It was like they were _trying_ to make it easy for us. Granted, they probably were, for whatever reason I could not fathom just yet.

Another thing I had to contend with was my arm wound, which was leaking out a lot of blood. I knew that I'd need to have Dr. Howler check that one out, because it was probably a pretty big problem. It didn't seem _as_ bad as the one on Fichina, but I'd been tied to a chair on that occasion. I knew that we needed to get out of there, and fast.

After making our way out of the base, we covered the half-mile to the river as fast as we could, and then we really had a good time, trying to keep the stretcher above the water. However, we did make it to the other side.

As soon as we reached the Great Fox, the door opened. Dr. Howler was standing there, probably ready to attend to Fox. Meanwhile, I just stood there, probably looking pretty pale.

Right after Falco passed the stretcher to Dr. Howler, I fell to my knees. I saw her look worried, but not for very long, as I soon passed out from a combination of the adrenaline running out and blood loss.


	9. The IV League

**This is yet another of those transition chapters, but it's still very much necessary for the plot. I'd label this a "medical angst" chapter if anything. It's also the shortest one yet, so I apologize for that.**

 **I've always considered titling a chapter "The IV League". And now I actually did it!**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

I woke up some time later in a place that had become pretty familiar to me: the med bay of the Great Fox. I'd ended up there, and visited people who were there, any number of times during the Anglar Blitz, which was the name given to the war between us and the Anglars. Now that we were facing a far greater threat, I fully expected that I was going to see this place a lot more.

Once again, moving my arm confirmed that there was a drip there. This time, I could see that I was on oxygen, and I still had a heart monitor attached. It was just like the last time, pretty much.

"Hey, you're awake" Fox said, looking over at me.

"Yeah...what happened?" I asked. My voice sounded weaker than usual, but that was only to be expected after my wound.

"You got shot back on Titania. Dr. Howler fixed it up pretty well, but you're still pretty badly hurt. I think that it's going to be some time before you feel all better, but she did give you that injection that she gave back on Cartagena".

I remembered that injection. It had healed my laser wound from back then up pretty nicely, but it had still caused me to pass out. It had been a good call for Dr. Howler to do it while I was already unconscious.

"I got shot, too" Fox said, showing me that his torso was bandaged. He limped over to my bed, dragging his IV with him.

"I feel bad about Victor" I said. "The last time I got shot, it was Mrs. Hooter, Mike, and Will who died. This time, it was Victor. Both times, it's like they weren't even _trying_ to kill me. Next time, who will it be who takes the fall instead of me?"

"That rhymes, you know" Fox said, clearly trying not to laugh.

"It's not funny, though. I really do think that there's some reason to have me almost die, but not quite. Does Andross want to finish me in person?"

"Why would he? He already had a golden opportunity right there, and if what you're saying is true, he completely blew it. But did he have a reason to blow it? I do not know".

I was reminded of another time that Fox and I were in the hospital together. That time, it had been the hospital wing of the Grey Clouds Flight Academy, the place where it had all begun. That was where I'd been sent after almost dying on that mountain. Fox and I had been together, stuck under many feet of snow and ice under a glacier.

"We're going to have to win the war. I know you know that I'm sick".

"I know that you're right" Fox said. "Really, Lucas, I'm not lying when I say that I'm worried about you. You seem a little more withdrawn than usual. Is that just your illness?"

"Yeah" I told him. "Really, the thought that you could die in just a few weeks...I know the medication is working, but not that quickly. If nothing works, I'm screwed".

"I think you can do it. Just a little more, and then you're ready for surgery. Then, you'll be fully able to help with the war".

"Who says I wasn't a help today?" I asked, somewhat indignantly.

"That's fair" Fox said. "But you'll be back to yourself again. I know that the medications probably aren't making you feel the best, but they're hopefully going to help cure you, and then we'll win. Then, you can marry Willow or whatever".

"Look", I said, "I'm not at that point yet. We just got back together after breaking up. Our relationship is still very much on the rocks".

"I know what you mean" he replied. "Still, though, if you want to talk to me about relationship advice...go for it".

Just then, Dr. Howler came into the room. "Oh, hey, you're awake" she said. "I stitched up the damage that had been done, and I'm putting some fluids into you right now to counteract the blood loss...is there anything you need?"

"Information" I said, causing her to laugh, not something you saw every day.

"What kind of information?" she queried.

"I'd like to know where we are going now" I told her.

"Corneria. We should be back in two days. Until then, you're staying in med bay. I'll make sure that you're good to be President once you're back. We'll need your help to get to a point where we can defeat Andross".

I nodded. I knew just how important this war was. If we didn't defeat Andross, there would be no Lylat System left. At least, not one that hadn't been taken over.

* * *

Just like Dr. Howler had predicted, it took us two days to reach Corneria. I spent most of that time trying to sleep, in order to get some rest and help my body heal. However, it wasn't easy, not with the grief I felt about Victor.

Victor Halsmith had been a very good person, even if he had worked with Andross. I accepted that he'd been duped into it, and, while I may not have _loved_ him, he didn't deserve to die the way he did. The Lylat System was now in a worse position for the fact that he was now gone.

I would often lie awake dwelling on it, replaying the scene in my head where Andross had just shot him dead like that. Because of this, Victor was irreversibly gone. To say that I was pissed at Andross would be a very gross understatement.

By the time we arrived back on Corneria, I had pretty much fully healed. I did get tired easily just from walking around the Great Fox, but but I felt well enough to continue being President. As such, instead of being taken to a hospital or something, I was taken to the Green House.

"How's it going, Lucas?" one of my guards asked me. "Are you feeling better?"

I nodded before entering the doorway. The Green House looked pretty much just the same as I remembered it, and I could only thank the maid for it. Of course, not everything in my life was all right, but at least this part of it was. I absolutely adored the place where I lived, and wanted to keep on living for as long as possible.

I was going to do everything I could to defeat this disease.

* * *

Of course, not everything could go my way. If it was that easy, than I wouldn't be Lucas Enfield.

We had dinner just like normal, and I may have even eaten a little more than I should have. Since I'd barely eaten anything while in med bay, I didn't have a cast-iron stomach any more. As such, I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible nausea.

I ran to the bathroom, barely making it before throwing up in the bathtub once again. Although the last time this had happened had been a month ago, I felt like it was only yesterday. The acrid stench of vomit began to fill the room, and yet I still threw up, unable to stop myself.

I'd thought that the anti-nausea medication Dr. Tuskland had prescribed last month was working. As it turned out, I was wrong.

Dr. Howler rushed into the room once she heard the sound of puking once again. From what I saw of her, I could tell that she seemed to be just as shocked as me. Surely she would have figured that it wasn't a slam-dunk guarantee?

"This won't hurt too much, Lucas" she assured me.

I could barely speak through the vomiting, but I managed to croak out, "IV again?"

"Yes. Hold still".

This was hard to do, so Dr. Howler yelled, "FALCO! I COULD USE SOME HELP IN HERE!"

The avian ran into the room. Seeing what was happening, I could hear him gasp. "What's going on?"

"This is the fourth time. I'm hooking Lucas up to an IV in order to keep him hydrated. I need you to help keep his arm stable while I find a vein".

Falco grabbed my arm as if I was hanging off the edge of a cliff. Dr. Howler came forward, trying to get the needle in. I couldn't stop my arms from shaking, no matter how hard I tried.

"Hold still".

I kept on trying to, but my body continued jerking with all of the vomiting. Eventually, I would probably pass out from the dehydration. I was already feeling pretty dizzy.

"Sorry for giving you so many sleepless nights" I told Dr. Howler.

Falco patted me on the head. "Don't be, Lucas. You can't help it. We're all working to keep you healthy, and that's perfectly fine with us".

"Really?" I asked.

"Yep".

Dr. Howler continued to try to get a vein in either of my arms, but it wasn't working. "Lucas, I'm going to sedate you and then put the IV in. I just can't do it otherwise".

"Why not?" Falco asked. I figured the answer should have been obvious.

"He's jerking too much. Let me go get one of the sedatives. It's about midnight, by the way".

"Okay. Stay here, Lucas" Falco told me. "You're going to be fine".

Dr. Howler came back about two minutes later. "I'm just going to give you a quick shot, and then you're going to sleep until the morning. I'm going to put the IV in once you're out".

I nodded, finally able to quell the heaving for a little bit.

The needle pricked the back of my hand, and I immediately began to feel very drowsy. Before I could say anything, I fell backwards, and the last thing I remember is Falco catching me.

* * *

For the second time that week, I woke up to find myself hooked up to an IV. I had been cleaned up, and I was back in my own bed. I couldn't say I was happy about it, but I felt better. The sedative Dr. Howler had given me was definitely helping.

"It's about time to go to Dr. Tuskland today" the Bengal tiger told me. "She's going to want to know about last night, and she might have some advice on what we should do. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the anti-nausea medications are no longer working. I'm not sure what we're going to do".

Truth be told, I was pretty worried as well. The way it was going, it sure seemed like nothing was going to work. I wasn't ready to die. Not when I still had so much else left to do.

I told Dr. Howler that I wasn't up for breakfast, which was true. I still felt somewhat nauseous from the previous night, so we just went to the elephant doctor's office. By now, the IV had been taken out, and I didn't feel super dehydrated anymore. I was just ready to head to the elephant doctor's office and see what she had to say.

We made our way to the hospital. This time, Falco was with us, because he was just as concerned about my health situation as Dr. Howler was. Really, this wasn't surprising, since he was also my guardian at this point.

Once it was our turn to go in, our conversation with Dr. Tuskland began.

* * *

"There are two big things that have happened with Lucas's health lately" Dr. Howler told Dr. Tuskland. "The first is that he was shot with a laser by Andross. It wasn't as bad as it was back on Fichina, especially since I already gave him that injection. Maybe it'll have taken longer to work, just because his health is now declining".

"That's a concern. I suppose that he is getting better, though?"

"I would say that" Falco said. "But there's something else".

"What is that something else?" Dr. Tuskland asked. "It's a pretty big deal that he got shot, and now there is another piece of news?"

"Last night", Dr. Howler said, "it would appear that the anti-nausea medication is no longer working. Clearly, because Lucas still threw up so much that I had to, once again, hook him up to an IV. What do you think of that?"

"Well...that _is_ a problem" the elephant said. "Anything else?"

"I had to give him a sedative in order to get him to stop jerking so I could put the IV in" the Bengal tiger said. "Clearly, that is a big deal".

"Quite" the other doctor said.

"So what are we doing now?" I asked. "Just giving up?"

Dr. Tuskland looked at me sadly. "That is, luckily, not the only option we have. There are...other medications".

"What about them?" Falco asked. "The way you say it, it sounds like there's something else about these new drugs".

"They're almost impossible to keep in your stomach" the elephant said. "They'd have to be given intravenously. And yet, that may be our only option".

"So, do I have to get a port or something?" I asked. "Be honest with me".

"I would never tell you anything but the truth, Lucas Enfield. The answer to that question is yes. Have you eaten or drank anything today?"

"He hasn't" Dr. Howler told her, no doubt realizing what the elephant was saying. "Are you saying that he'd have surgery to place it today?"

"Yes, he would" Dr. Tuskland said.

* * *

I woke up in the hospital bed. Looking at my left arm, I saw that it had an IV port in it.

I sighed, knowing that this was what I'd agreed to. Now, it was only a question of whether the disease or the drugs were going to kill me first.


	10. Worse Than The Disease

**There are certain points at which I'd really rather write Four Seasons, but here is the next chapter of Rise Of The Enemy.**

 **Also, because it will become relevant later: The time this story takes place, the current President Of The United States is Donald Trump. For all intents and purposes, 201X is 2016, and 201Y is 2017. The events in the human world assume that there are no new wars other than the one with Andross. Of course, does it REALLY matter?**

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

Once we got back to Corneria, things were pretty normal for a while. At least, what substituted for normal. I had recovered from my injuries sustained in the bombing very quickly, and so it wasn't long until I was back to normal and attending Senate meetings. Of course, it can be debated as to whether or not that was a good thing.

On July 25, I attended my first Senate meeting since the bomb. I could tell that some eyebrows were raised at me as I walked to my seat, which this time was right next to Cole. We caught each other's eyes, but neither of us were distracted from the main topic that was brought up.

"Lucas Zantry Enfield is still the President Of Corneria" said the leader of the meeting, Sandra Squirrel, who stood on the stage. "I maintain, as I always have, that he is unfit for office. I still say that we should remove him".

"And I really don't think that we should" said another senator. "If we were to forcibly remove our leader, one who has not committed any demonstrable crimes, where does that put our country? Our planet? And why would our replacement be any better?"

" _Anyone_ is better than Enfield" Sandra said. "Really, who would have ever thought that a 17-year-old boy would be fit for the office? There's just no way our country can defeat Andross with him as President. I'm sorry, Gregory Giraffe, but it's not a good idea to keep him there".

I couldn't stand this talk anymore. Really, it only made sense to me that Lucas should stay in office. Of course, now that I was once again his girlfriend, I may have been a little biased, but it was true. I really did care about the guy, and I felt that he was governing well.

"I think President Enfield is doing his job very well, thank you very much" I said, standing up even though it wasn't my turn to speak.

Sandra looked at me. "Secretary Of State Foster, you and the President have just been absent from Corneria City for several days. What could possibly convince me that you're right about him being a good President?"

What reasons _did_ I have? I'd thought it was so obvious that he was so awesome, but I now wracked my brains for reasons that he was good at his job. I couldn't think of any objective ones besides _Well, he's my boyfriend,_ and that was hardly an objective objection to Sandra.

"I just have faith in him" I said.

"He's your ex-boyfriend!" Sandra all but shouted. "If you can't even trust him in a relationship, why do you trust him to lead the country?"

I decided to just wait for the next thing she was going to say, because I had a feeling about what it was going to be.

"Are you guys back together or something?"

I saw no reason to deny it. "Yes, I have resumed my romantic relationship with Lucas Z. Enfield. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes. Why should we allow you to be Secretary Of State in this case? If you can't tell when to leave an abusive relationship, why should we trust you to tell when there is a threat to our country?"

That really made my blood boil. "President Enfield wasn't abusing me! He's an awesome guy!"

Konstantin, who was also in attendance at the meeting, came over to me. "I can vouch for that. He's a really awesome person to be with. He is more than fit to be President. At the end of the day, you realize that age is just a number-".

"That when added to another number equals the minimum age one should be when President Of Corneria" Sandra said angrily. "Really, why allow him to stay?"

"This conversation is over" Konstantin said. "I'm not going to let you tear into someone who's not here. Next time, we'll have President Enfield in here. That way, he can defend himself. Really, you should be ashamed of yourself".

"Insolence, Commander Brockenbough!" Sandra said. "You must resign from your position!"

"I'm not doing that, why do you think I would?" Konstantin asked. He then turned to me. "Willow, do you still want to be Secretary Of State after this?"

I nodded. I knew that the country still needed me. They might have done okay when I was unconscious in the hospital, but that didn't change the fact that it was likely preferable by far to have me as Secretary Of State. As far as I could tell, I'd been doing a good job. Because of this, I really wanted to stay in my position.

However, Sandra Squirrel didn't seem to want to work with us too much. If we had so much infighting among us, I didn't see how we could possibly manage to defeat Andross. Not with us so divided.

* * *

 **KONSTANTIN'S POV**

On July 26, I was just working on readying the Great Fox for what I could sense coming soon. It always seemed like a cliché in media that we were going to end this with a huge battle. I was more than a little worried about it, especially that I knew Lucas wasn't in the best of health. If Lucas didn't recover, I didn't see how we were going to be able to do it.

I helped Dr. Howler, who had taken a day off from being Lucas's guardian, put medical supplies on the ship, as well as stocking it with dishes, food, and other things. I was really looking forward to ending this war, one way or another. The others had at least gotten a three-month break from it, but I'd been a military commander through both my birthday and Lucas's.

Actually, that wasn't _entirely_ true. Lucas had gone from Vice President to President, at the age of seventeen. Willow was still working as Secretary Of State. Cole was a senator, and even Ian was working at an important job in one of the scientific labs on Corneria. Really, they hadn't exactly had a long spring vacation from things related to the war.

We knew that the final battle was coming, and soon. It wasn't something that we could put off, either. Andross was going to take the fight to us if we didn't take it to him first.

The head of the military on Corneria was not Lucas, but it was a man who was perhaps just as important. Margaret "Maisie" Johnson was a tall woman who was in charge of the armed forces, and made most of the military decisions. She had agreed to come visit me and Dr. Howler as we were working to ready the ship for the final battle.

"We're going to have to take the trip across the upper reaches of the Lylat System in order to get to Venom. Just like last time, your goal is going to be to take every planet on the way. Sector Y, Aquas, Zoness, Sector Z, and Area 6 are all going to be places where you may face battles. Because of this, it is absolutely vital that you have the ship ready for any eventuality. But the place you really want to get is Bolse" she said.

"Why Bolse?" Dr. Howler asked.

"It's pretty simple. Both of the locations immediately before Venom are vital to our success. We're going to have to take them eventually".

"We'll have to tell the others" the Bengal tiger said. "This really does sound like a good plan, but the problem is that we need to wait until Lucas recovers".

"Wait...Lucas...do you mean President Enfield?" Maisie asked.

"That's right" I said. "And he has a potentially terminal illness in his blood, so I don't know if he is ready quite yet to go on such a mission. We'll have to wait until...".

"It's looking like he is going to recover" Dr. Howler said. "Really, I'm not too worried about him. You can visit him later, if you like".

"I'm going to do that" I said. "But right now, we've got to get some more supplies in there. Then, we'll tell Lucas and the others".

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

I had had the port in for a week when Dr. Howler gave me the news. Even though it really wasn't that bad, and the Bengal tiger no longer had to search for a vein to put a needle, I was looking forward to getting it out. I couldn't really shower with it in, for one, and there was the fact that Dr. Howler seemed to be getting more and more optimistic.

On some occasions, I spent the night with a bag of the new medication hanging next to me and dripping into my arm. Other times, the port was just there. According to Dr. Howler, the area affected by the toxic blood was beginning to shrink far more quickly.

"Really, this is a good sign" she told me one day. "You're going to beat this, Lucas. And Konstantin does have something to tell you".

That made me sit up bolt upright in bed. If Konstantin had something important to tell me, that could hardly be good news. I might be on the road to recovery, but that didn't mean that any news was good news. Not by a long shot.

While I waited for Konstantin to come, I looked out at the gardens surrounding the Green House. It had been about a month and a half since I had moved in here, but the greenery seemed even more beautiful than it had before. That should not have been a surprise, and yet it was.

Eventually, I saw the bespectacled young man next to my bed. He was a little surprised to see the IV in my arm.

"I didn't know you were that sick" he said.

"Trust me" I told him. "It had been worse. Much worse. Apparently, I'm doing quite a bit better. I could be ready for surgery in just a few days".

"That's good news" Konstantin said. "We have another mission to do".

"What kind of mission?" I asked. If he meant something like we had done last March, going through all of the planets in the Lylat System in order to reach Venom and defeat the Anglars, I wasn't sure that I was up for that right yet.

"It's pretty simple" he said. "Sector Y, Aquas, Zoness, Sector Z, Area 6, and Bolse all need to be taken before we reach Venom. Then, we can begin our final assault on Andross. Are you looking forward to that?"

I wasn't sure if that was the right choice of words for Konstantin to use.

"I think we can do it as soon as Lucas has recovered from his surgery. It's a pretty draining surgery, they'll remove a third of the blood from his body. They're going to have a few bags of O+ on standby to replenish it, because they can't just replace it with his own blood again".

"It's _literally_ draining" Falco said, chuckling.

Dr. Howler looked sternly at her husband, who seemed to grasp that now was not the best time for a joke like that.

"In any case", Dr. Howler said, "I do think we'll be ready in another week or so. Lucas has a few more days of the medication, and then he has the surgery, a few days of recovery from that...yeah, then we're going to be able to go on this combat mission of yours".

They continued on with this line of conversation, but I could only sit back in bed and listen. If we didn't defeat Andross, he was going to destroy all that we cared about.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

I was spending another late night at the lab. This time, however, I was far less worried about a bomb being sent to me. Any mail I got was now heavily screened, and, since I was friends with the President, it was very easy to arrange for the necessary security.

Dr. Howler had told me that the medications they were giving Lucas were getting very close to curing him, or at least getting him to a point where he could have surgery. I was pretty grateful for this, because I really did see Lucas as my buddy, and I wanted him to get better.

Because of this, I was working on looking for technology that could help us defeat Andross. I knew that his main mother ship, the Blue Brain, was highly advanced, and would thus require something pretty amazing to take it down. I was studying the lab reports, looking for something that might be a good candidate.

Thus far, however, not much in the way of progress seemed to be being made. Chances were, Andross had some kind of invincibility shield, if he had been able to return from a brain to a full physical body, and I didn't see how we were going to be able to crack through that without learning more about the specifics of this shield, if it indeed existed.

Konstantin had explained to me that we were going to be going on another combat quest soon, once Lucas was recovered from his surgery. I was grateful that he was close to that point, if not completely better by now. Really, it was unlikely that he would die at this point, unless it was at the hands of the Venomians.

And yet...that didn't help me feel too much better. I wasn't sure why, but I still had a feeling that even our best-laid plans to defeat Andross might go completely awry.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

It was August 4 by now, which was also the birthday of former President Barack Obama. I still had my port in, but I was connected to an IV bag that did not contain the medication for the disease. Rather, it was a sedative to get me ready for the surgery. The bag had not yet been hung from the pole, so that I could still talk coherently.

"Can I give you the details of this procedure, Lucas Enfield?" Dr. Tuskland asked me. She was the one who would perform the surgery, along with Dr. Howler and another doctor I hadn't seen before, who looked like an anthropomorphic horse. It reminded me of a time when, due to my very tall height, I'd played a horse in a kindergarten play.

"Yes" I said, nodding. Falco and Dr. Howler were also right next to my bed in the hospital, where I had travelled for the procedure.

Tuskland consulted her clipboard. "You will be anesthetized and taken to the operating room. The toxic blood, all of which has been moved to an area in your shoulder, is going to be drained out. It will be replaced with bags of new O+ blood that will be right there. The procedure will, in total, take roughly an hour. Any questions?"

"Yes" I said. "How long will I have to stay in the hospital afterwards?"

"Probably only a day or two. Then, you'll have to take it easy for another week before you go off and fight Andross".

I nodded as Dr. Tuskland handed me a clipboard to sign my name, in order to consent to the procedure. After writing LUCAS ZANTRY ENFIELD in uppercase manuscript letters, I handed it back to her.

"Very well. No oral food or water in the last six to eight hours?"

"Check" Dr. Howler said.

"Any other problems?"

"Not that we are aware of".

"All right. Let's prepare him for surgery now".

They put the anesthesia mask over my face and hung the IV bag from the stand. Then, my world went black.

* * *

I woke up what felt like seconds later, although I knew it was over an hour. I was propped up with a lot of pillows, and I fought to open my eyes.

"There you go, Lucas. Wake up" said a voice I recognized.

Looking around, I saw that I was once again in a hospital bed. I'd just had a surgical procedure, the second one in less than three weeks.

Dr. Tigre Howler was looking at me with a joyous expression on her face. "Lucas! The operation was a success! Do you know what that means?"

I thought to myself, and then I knew exactly what it meant.

I was cured.


	11. Chapter 11

**This is the longest chapter in a while, and I'm sorry that I seem to have been putting so little effort into the story thus far. Really, it does feel like a chore at times, but I'm going to continue. There are only four chapters after this, so why stop now?**

 **At one point, I do state, as well, that the Vice President of Corneria is not Mike Pence. In this timeline, like I said, Trump/Pence is the current U.S. administration, but this barely matters in the story. I do not believe this breaks the rules, since neither of them play any real role in the story.**

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

On August 4, I spent the majority of the day in my apartment. The whole time, I'd just been looking at the various books I had. Although I wasn't as much of a bookworm as Ian or Konstantin, I did find some of the books by James Mattis interesting. After all, it did make a lot of sense that, in a war, you would need to use your wits just as much as your physical strength in order to win.

I could only hope that I would glean some wisdom from these books in order to help the group. Somehow, I doubted it. We'd succeed or fail on our own merits.

Eventually, I was turning through one of Mattis's books when my telephone rang. Even though this was Corneria, with all of its futuristic technology, they still didn't have holophones, so we had to settle for the classic things. Go figure.

I saw a number that I recognized as belonging to Tigre Howler, Lucas's physician. There was no doubt some important news she wanted to tell me, so I decided that it would be worth it to pick up the phone.

"Hello, Willow?" the Bengal tiger on the other end said.

"Yes. What is it?". Was Lucas cured? Was he dead?

"I am pleased to report", Dr. Howler said, "that Lucas's surgery was a success. He seems to be fully cured of his illness, and he's awake and alert, which is a good sign. You can come and visit him if you want".

I thought about it. Really, it made no sense not to see him. After all, we were back together, and things were going pretty well between us. We had resuscitated the flames of our romance, and now it was an inferno again.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes".

* * *

As it turned out, it took me nearly twice as long to reach the Green House. That had been where his surgery was performed, because there was apparently an operating room there. Apparently his surgery had not been too invasive, only to remove some blood from his shoulder, but I was still worried about him all the same. I hadn't even known that the procedure was going on today, let alone that it had already been done and had succeeded.

Dr. Howler met me at the door, positively beaming. "Lucas is all right! He's been cured!"

I could have kissed her, except that I'm not a lesbian. I headed in the door and saw Lucas sitting up in bed, reading a book.

He was still wearing a hospital gown, and he still had an IV drip in his left arm. However, he looked much healthier than the last time I had seen him. Evidently, getting all of that bad blood (literally) out of his body, his face had instantly gone further back to its normally healthy, slightly yellow color.

"Are you doing better, Lucas?" I asked him.

Lucas looked up from his book. Seeing that I was there, he got up in order to hug me.

"I'm feeling very well" he said happily. "We're about to kick some alien ass, and I no longer have this stupid disease weighing me down. I'm going to give it my all, and, if I die, it will not be at the hands of Andrew Oikonny!"

The way he said it, it sounded kind of like an ancient Greek monologue, but when you've just gotten back with someone whom you now really love again, and have seen them through a very severe illness, you start to not care much about such things.

"You look happier, too" I said.

"I know" he told me. "I'll be even happier when I get this stupid IV out of my arm, but unfortunately Dr. Howler says it has to stay in overnight". He slumped his broad shoulders at that last sentence.

"Why?"

"They're just giving me an extra dose of the medication, just to make sure I am really and totally cured, but once that is done I only have one more day here. Then, we can go and fight Andross".

I was pretty nervous for the upcoming battle, and I could not lie about that. However, with Lucas Enfield, the President Of Corneria, healthy again, it really did seem like we were going to be okay. This was going to work out, one way or another.

"We're probably going to have to go and make sure with the Senate that this new quest of ours is okay" I said. "I know that they can't just have us governing _in absentia_ ".

Lucas rubbed his hair. "You know, I've been giving that some thought as well. I've decided that it's really not going to work unless we find someone else to rule in our place. Who is the Vice President now? Not Mike Pence".

"No, not Pence. I believe that there is none".

We both pondered the line of succession, Lucas rubbing the small growth of beard on his chin. After Vice President came Secretary Of State, which was not an option for obvious reasons.

"The head of the Cornerian military!" he said, finally, pumping his fist. "What was her name again? Maisie something?"

"Johnson" I said. "Maisie Johnson. She could lead!"

"Okay" Lucas said. "We're going to have to alert Maisie Johnson to this fact, and she's going to step in and govern the country. I guess that we are resigning now?"

I nodded. "I suppose so".

* * *

 **KONSTANTIN'S POV**

It felt good to be back on the Great Fox. Even though I'd been having a good time as a military commander, it was nice getting back to what I was familiar with, especially since many of the planets we were going to be traveling to were ones that we had already visited during the Anglar blitz.

I spent most of our first afternoon in my cabin, getting ready for what was going to be another odyssey through the Lylat System. The age shift from 19 to 20 had been a big shift for me, because a 19-year-old can still be considered a teenager. Once you're twenty, however, you really are an adult now.

Right now, I was just glad that we were back in business, working towards our goal of defeating Andross. It wasn't going to be easy, but very few things worth doing ever are.

It was now August 6, a Tuesday, and Lucas had been allowed to get on the ship. Evidently, his operation to remove all of the toxic blood out of his body had been successful, and he was now cured.

This was something that meant the world to me, as I had spent so much of the last seven weeks worrying about him. Now, knowing that he was healthy again, I could focus most of my efforts on the coming battle.

As I saw Lucas and Willow chatting in the rec room, I decided to chat to Cole.

"Do you want to have a match in Brawl?" I asked him.

Cole nodded, and so we each grabbed a controller. Four minutes later, we were having an intense match on 75m. I know that this is one of the most universally hated stages in the game, but don't judge. We were having a pretty good time.

Eventually, Ian came in. "How is it going, guys?" he asked us.

"I'm so glad that Lucas is better!" Cole told him, not taking his eyes off the screen as he used a smash attack on me.

"Me too" I said. Really, what else was I supposed to say? I was a pretty big fan of Lucas Enfield.

"I'm nervous" Ian admitted. He was pretty brave to say that, I thought, because I was also pretty nervous. Ian actually had the guts to say it, which was something I admited him for.

I supposed that this meant that I was a coward. And I was perfectly okay with that.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

The next morning, I woke up in my cabin, a place that I had become pretty familiar during our time on the ship during the Anglar blitz. After lying in bed for a while, mainly nervous at the thought of today's battle, I decided to face the day. Just because I didn't want to didn't mean that I didn't _have_ to.

After debating on what to wear today, I headed into the dining room, where everyone else already was. I analyzed how all of us looked, though it had only been a few months since the last time we were all together in this room on a combat mission.

Willow Foster's hair had grown out. Apparently, she was only a week from her seventeenth birthday, and then she'd be able to use magic outside of school. Of course, magic didn't exist, but it was still cool to think of things in _Harry Potter_ terms. That didn't change the fact, however, that I just wasn't into girls, although I saw why Lucas found her attractive.

Cole McCallen, on the other hand, looked more orderly than I had ever seen him. His hair was neatly combed, looking more like a senator than a former juvenile delinquent. I could tell that it wasn't just his look that had been reformed, however. It was also his _attitude._ Cole seemed to be a better person in general than when I had first met him, during which time I had still gone under the alias of "Seventy-Four".

Konstantin Brockenbough was now a healthy weight again, and this time it wasn't because he had been imprisoned in a dank, dark prison cell. He was now more muscular, and his glasses made him look more confident. I wondered if this change would be made to my look when I turned twenty; maybe that was where the line was drawn between looking like an adult and looking like a child.

Lucas Enfield also looked more confident in himself, and his tall frame no longer looked gaunt, his skin looked rosier, and he also appeared to have more energy. Probably he was no longer on those awful medications, which would make sense if he did have more energy than before. All in all, he looked happier, more like someone on a beach, which was his usual hairstyle.

Falco and Dr. Howler were sitting next to each other, which made a lot of sense now that they had officially tied the knot. I still remembered Lucas fainting in the middle of that wedding, which put a damper on those memories for sure. Even if Willow was now back with Lucas, I still didn't like the fact that she had essentially just crashed the wedding with no warning. I wasn't likely to get over that anytime soon.

"So" Lucas said. He was sitting next to Willow, no surprise there. "Are we going to fight in Sector Y today?"

Falco nodded. "We're going to make our way through its gauntlet of enemies and then fight the Shogun at the end. I hope that you guys are ready for a battle, because it's going to be pretty intense. I'll fly, but I need one other person to go with me".

I knew I wanted to do this. All of us raised our hands, but I was first to the punch.

"Ian Keller" Falco said. "He's going to be the one".

* * *

I had to admit that I was more than a little nervous for the battle of Sector Y. In order to practice, I'd played that level plenty of times.

In the game, when you're on Sector Y, you need to get 100 points or more in order to move on to Aquas. If you cannot do that, you have to go down to Katina.

After we were both in our Arwings, we raced through the first segment of the level at high speeds, working to defeat the Shoguns and reach a point where we would be able to get through the swarms of enemy ships.

"Use a smart bomb, Ian!" Falco commanded me.

I did that, causing all of the triangular flying droids to explode. It was satisfying in some sort of primal way, seeing the three-dimensional starburst of fiery doom destroy everything.

It had been a long time since the bomb, and I was now fully recovered enough to do barrel rolls. As we reached the part of the level with the large ship with Andross's face on it, I felt a rage of fury. It had been Andrew, his nephew, who had caused us so much pain and suffering over the last few months. I was ready to terminate Andrew as well as Andross.

Using the smart bombs, as satisfying as it was to take down entire fleets of enemies just like that, really did bring back memories of the bomb that had been sent to me in the mail. I tried to push them back, but they kept bobbing to the surface like apples at a Halloween party.

"Let's keep on going!" Falco said. "I'll take everything above, you go below!"

I looked up and saw that, much like the point in the game where you have two pathways to choose from, we were at a crossroads here as well. I went downward, shooting like a madman, making sure that none of the enemies escaped. If even one of them got to the Great Fox, that might put us in trouble.

Eventually, I reunited with Falco, and we were able to make our way through various ships and droids before we reached a wide-open area. I knew where we were. In the game, this is the part of the level where you go into all-range mode.

We had reached the boss of Sector Y.

* * *

The boss of Sector Y is a battle machine called the Shogun. It looks kind of like a cat on its hind legs, carrying a shield in one arm that faces directly at whoever is facing it.

"Let's take this thing down, Ian!" Falco shouted at me.

I was doing all I could, but the boss kept on moving around. Which, if I were it, I would of course be doing as well. Still, though, it was quite annoying when you were on the other end of this and trying to _defeat_ the boss.

"I'm coming for ya!" yelled the Shogun pilot.

I circled back around and continued shooting at the battle machine. With a quick hand, I was able to take it down in just a few shots.

Circling back to a point where we could head back onto the Great Fox, Falco said, "Great work, Ian. Let's go back to the others".

* * *

When we got back on the Great Fox, everyone else was waiting for us in the hangar bay. After they had seen the Shogun explode, they were all standing there, celebrating. Which I would have been as well, considering what we had just done.

"You did it!" Cole said, giving me a high five.

I was also pretty thrilled. We were getting closer to winning this war with each step. And then, we could actually do something more productive, something I was very much looking forward to doing.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

Let me tell you, it was a good feeling to be cured. I had been feeling pretty sick before then, and been taking my medication, which only made me feel sicker. But, after waking up from the operation, it was like I had immediately felt a hundred percent again. I felt ready to take on Andross, that we could actually do it this time.

I decided to head on over to Willow's cabin, because I could use a talk with her. I wasn't sad by any means, but I knew that things would never be the same now that we had been apart for several months.

"You know, maybe things could be better now" I heard a voice say from behind me.

Turning around, I saw that it was indeed Willow. She led me into her cabin and sat down on the bed next to me.

"It's like you read my mind" I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked me.

"I was thinking about how it's never going to be the same, now that we've broken up and gotten back together again".

"You're right" Willow said. "It's not going to be the same, but if we can ultimately survive something as big as you killing Jack, I think we can go anywhere together. We're getting closer and closer to Andross. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah" I said. I flexed my arm, grateful that it no longer had an IV port in it. It was a nice change from constantly feeling like I was in the hospital.

Just then, the dinner bell rang. Yes, I said _dinner bell._ One had been installed so that we could know whenever we were being called to a meal.

"I guess we should go to dinner" she said.

* * *

Just like usual, we sat next to each other at the dinner table. Even if there had been a _sliver_ of doubt that the flames had been reignited, there now no longer was. I was back in love with Willow Foster. And she was back in love with me.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

We ate soup for dinner, with noodles, but we didn't feed each other like couples sometimes do in restaurants. We weren't going that far, at least not yet. Maybe someday.

"So...Aquas tomorrow" Konstantin said. He looked pretty good today, relieved that we had already made our way through Sector Y. I felt the same way, of course. One sector down, only a few more planets and sectors to go. This was going to be a piece of cake.

"That's right" Dr. Howler said. "We're going to send two people down there in the Blue Marine, and we're going to take out the bio-weapon that Andross has planted there. I really don't think that Aquas is too strategically valuable, but since it's in our way, we might as well take it".

I saw her logic. It was difficult to resist the logical road she was taking us down, and I knew that it would make sense to take Aquas just to be safe.

"I just don't want it to be me" Konstantin said. "I'm afraid of the dark".

That was something weird to hear him say. I'd never known Konstantin Brockenbough to _have_ that many fears, and knowing what one of them was came as a shock to me.

But then I remembered the time he had spent, so long ago, in that underground cell, awaiting death. I knew that this didn't sound pleasant, and I would never have wanted that to be me. Had it been, I'd probably have felt the same way as Konstantin.

"I'll go" I said. I was sick of being fussed over, and now that I was no longer ill, I wanted to take a part in all of these missions. I wanted to help.

"Great" Falco said. I could tell that he was glad that I was getting an opportunity to be useful, rather than just sitting back and letting him and Dr. Howler take care of me. Really, he probably figured, I was ready for the job. Which I was.

"I'm doing it too" Ian said. "Lucas needs my help, he's my buddy".

Truth be told, I liked the idea of Ian going with me on this mission. After all, he was kind of a nerd, but in the game Slippy, also a nerd, is very helpful in guiding the team through Aquas. If Ian could play Slippy's role well enough here, there was a good chance that he would be able to help us win this battle as well.

* * *

I didn't sleep well that night. Granted, ever since becoming ill I hadn't slept quite as well, but this was different. I knew that it was pre-battle jitters, and nothing to be too worried about. The battle coming that day was something I cared about far more.

I put on my clothing for the day. Since the Blue Marine was a pretty strong submarine, I did not need to wear swim clothes in order to get in. However, I did need to make sure that we kept the water from coming in through the windows of the submarine, because I didn't want to be caught underneath all of that water and crushed. That would bring back bad memories...

After breakfast was over, I headed into the docking bay with Ian. After we said goodbye to the others, with Dr. Howler wishing us luck and Falco giving me instructions on how to control the Blue Marine, we opened the hatch and both climbed in.

"Are you ready to get started on this?" I asked Ian.

He nodded next to me. "As ready as I'll ever be".

* * *

At first, things weren't going all that well. I had a tough time figuring out how to control the Blue Marine at the beginning. But I soon realized that if I held onto the steering wheel tightly enough, I would have much more control of where I was going.

I supposed it was pretty enough, the areas we were passing. When I was younger, I had wanted to be a marine biologist, but I had never been the biggest fan of science. That's not ripping on scientific advancements, as without it I would most likely not have lived long enough to reach this point.

In addition, there were ancient ruins that hung out in pitch-black areas, and it was only through firing torpedoes that we could get to see the whole area.

As for the inside of the Blue Marine, it wasn't too comfortable. The area was five feet by two feet, with what felt like pillows on a sofa on either end of it. From my vantage point, I could see the dark underwater landscape. Ian sat backwards, but the whole area was kind of like a car on a Ferris wheel, not the most comfortable way to go about things.

There were also plenty of jellyfish present, as well as angler fish, which did not bring back good memories for me. I could only think of the Anglars, the fish-people from Venom that we had faced during the first war. It had been because of the Anglars, at least partly, that Konstantin had been imprisoned and condemned to death.

"Are you ready to face this bio-weapon?" I asked Ian.

Ian nodded. He didn't say anything, but for once he didn't sound timid. It occurred to me just how much he had changed ever since he had unmasked himself and stopped calling himself by the alias of "Seventy-Four". He had used to be timid, never taking off his gas mask. Now, he seemed much more confident in himself, as well as what all of us thought about him.

I had to admit, at first I hadn't thought that he'd be brave enough to help us rescue Konstantin from that underground cell. Now that I knew him and had grown to appreciate his help on all of the combat missions we were doing, I really was starting to care what happened to him. I was starting to trust Ian Keller a lot.

"Here's the bio-weapon!" Ian said. Looking forward, I saw what he was looking at.

* * *

It was a sight for sore eyes, to be sure. The bio-weapon of Aquas is a clam with one pearl-like eye with an iris in a rainbow of colors. It's pretty creepy, with two columns that somewhat resemble smokestacks. Lots of bubbles came out of both of them.

"Let's shoot some torpedoes at the eye!" I ordered to Ian.

Ian began mashing the button for shooting torpedoes like a maniac, but one was only dislodging and going forwards at a rate of about one every ten seconds. Most likely, Ian was pressing the button too fast.

"I think there's a limit as to how many you can shoot, Ian" I told him.

Ian seemed to take my advice, no longer hitting the button as many times. I could tell that what we were doing was working, however. We were weakening the thing, hopefully enough so that we could defeat it without the Blue Marine taking too much damage.

"I think we're getting close, Lucas!" Ian shouted.

Sure enough, the eye exploded after we hit it with just a few more torpedoes. Trying to limit the amount of barrel rolls we did, we nevertheless were able to avoid getting hit by any more of the bubbles released.

"We won!" I cried out.

* * *

Back on the Great Fox, Willow took me aside. "It's really awesome that we've taken back Aquas" she said.

I looked back at her. So nice to have her back. She was just so beautiful, and my knees almost buckled.

"Lucas...you look like you're about to faint. Are you okay?"

I straightened back up. "Yes, I'm fine. Yes, we've taken Aquas. Just a few more battles to go, and then it's Andross".

 _Then, it's Andross._

I didn't know how I felt about the fact that we were soon going to be taking on such a powerful enemy. The evil scientist was not going to be easy to defeat, and the Lylat System's fate rested on our shoulders. That's one thing that you should never take lightly.


	12. Chapter 12

**The fourth-to-last chapter! It's not terribly long, but I think you will still appreciate it for what it is. At this point, like I've said, I was pretty much over it, but the next two chapters are likely to be the longest in the story. Just take solace in that, please.**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

The next morning, I woke up in my own bed on the Great Fox. It really was nice to be back. I hadn't realized it during my time as Vice President, and later President, of Corneria, but I was starting to feel nostalgic for what I saw as the "good old days" of when we were just fighting the Anglars.

Of course, it did say something about how tough things were these days that I saw those as _good_ times. The irony of that was not lost on me, nor did I think that it would be lost on anyone else if I told them that. The fact of the matter was, we just had to defeat Andross, and nothing else mattered. We needed to win this war for the entire Lylat System.

Today, we were going to be heading to Zoness. The planet, which had used to be a tropical paradise where wealthy Lylatians liked to vacation, had been completely ruined by Andross during the First Lylat War. He'd dumped all sorts of garbage into the oceans, making the planet completely unlivable. There had been a battle there during the last war we'd taken part in, during which Cole had been injured. But, being Cole McCallen, he had recovered from that pretty quickly.

I wished that Willow would have been back on Corneria, because a selfish part of me wanted her to be safe. But then I remembered that she really did want to help with the war, and her life back on the blue planet of the Lylat System would have been completely unlivable if she was stuck safely there, unable to do anything to help us defeat Andross. Because of this, I knew that we had made the right choice by inviting her back.

In a way, and I felt like a _horrible_ person for this, I was kind of glad that the bomb had been sent to Willow, Ian, and Konstantin in the science lab last month. Reason being, without it it seemed very unlikely that I would have gotten back together with Willow Foster, which I now knew had been the correct thing to do. I was falling in love with her all over again, and I didn't see anything I could do in order to stop it.

* * *

I headed into the dining room for breakfast, getting ready for another strategy discussion. Just like in the Percy Jackson books, I expected it to be something like a war council with donuts.

As it turned out, they did have donuts there, so I helped myself. In addition, it was yet another strategy meeting. At times, it seemed like they would never end.

On the other hand, however, I did understand why they were necessary. As much as anyone else did, I wanted to defeat Andross. I really did. I wanted to avenge Victor, and Mrs. Hooter, and Mike, and Will...there were just so many people who had lost their lives at his hands.

Dr. Howler nibbled on one with white frosting. "We're not going to Zoness or Sector Z today" she said.

That surprised me, and I almost choked on my strawberry-frosted donut. I had always assumed that today would be the day that we'd head to the planet and sector, respectively, that we'd fought on during the last war.

"Why not?" Ian asked.

Falco took a bite of his chocolate donut before saying, "Those have already been taken. We're going straight ahead to Area 6, where we are expecting we will arrive sometime tomorrow. And then, we're going down to Bolse, because we will have to do battle there. What do you think about that?"

Truth be told, going straight from Aquas to Area 6 was something that made me more than a little nervous. I felt like I had gotten a little bit out of touch during the months that I had lost due to my illness and being an elected official, and I really needed to get back on track in order to stand a chance at helping our team. I needed more practice with an Arwing.

And yet, I didn't have any choice.

* * *

The rest of the day, for me at least, was spent hanging out with the others. I might die tomorrow, but today I could still have a good time with Willow and the others.

Cole wanted me to play _Brawl_ with him, but I wasn't really in the mood. I'd be fighting alongside Cole in Area 6 tomorrow, and there'd be plenty of chance for us to team up, and maybe even bicker a little bit. The same thing applied to Konstantin.

However, I was in the mood to talk with Willow, so I took her into the dance room.

"Remember how we used to dance to songs about unrequited love?" I asked her.

Willow nodded.

"I'm not going to do that this time, though. Right now, I just want to have conversation".

"So...where do we begin? I'm Willow Foster, and we attended high school together in Swanville, Maine. We dated for a few months before I broke it off. Now, we're back together".

"I know all that" I said. "Seriously, Willow...do you imagine a future with me?"

Willow looked back at me. "That's one loaded question, Lucas Enfield".

"Sorry" I said. "But, really, do you? I want to know that all of this is...worth it. We're right in the middle of the war, we could just take a break".

"No" Willow said. "I don't want to take a break. As for a future...like you said, we might as well wait until this is all over. It's not going to be too much longer, will it?"

I supposed she was right about that. There wasn't any good reason not to re-analyze things once we were back on Corneria, and, really, she was also right about the state of the war. One way or another, I got the feeling that it was all going to be over soon.

Really, I was okay with that. Whether I was resting in the Green House back on Corneria, in a hospital, or in a grave, I just wanted to _rest._ I was sick of all of this fighting. I just wanted to settle down somewhere.

"We're going to figure this all out, Willow Foster. I promise you".

As I walked away, I wondered if I would be able to keep that promise.

* * *

 **KONSTANTIN'S POV**

The next morning, we all headed down to the docking bay after breakfast. We knew that we had had an important battle, so all of us made sure to eat healthily. I wasn't prepared to get killed at the age of twenty in Area 6, no way in hell.

I was with Ian, Cole, Willow, and Lucas. Falco was also coming with us, because this group of teenagers and young adults really did need a chaperone. As usual, Dr. Howler was staying on the Great Fox so that she could treat any injuries that might have come up. I shuddered to think at what our medical bills would have been back in the United States.

Then again, we were all in important positions at this point, with Lucas being the _President Of Corneria._ That was a job that surely came along with plenty of wealth, and probably free, or at least mostly free, health care.

We bade Dr. Howler farewell before getting in our ships and entering Area 6.

"This is it" I said. "Our last time in Area 6. We'd better enjoy the moment".

"Yeah" Lucas said, releasing a smart bomb at the minefield in front of us. The normal three-dimensional starburst exploded at us, and all of the mines went off. It was something very satisfying to watch, for sure.

"Let's be careful, and use those bombs wisely" Falco said. "You never know when you might need them, and then you might not have them".

He had a point. "I'm not using any more of those now, Falco" Willow said.

I thought more of Willow, now that she had spoken up. It really did seem that they, by which I mean Willow and her boyfriend, were pretty close. Over the last few days, she had been spending more and more time with Lucas Enfield, and, had there been any doubt that they were back together, all of that was now out the window.

"Let's take out some of those ships!" Cole yelled, beginning to fire his lasers madly at the ships that were on a continual downward slope. We could see Venom, the large yellow-green planet, right ahead of us. That was our goal, but we were going to have to take Bolse first, just to make sure that everything was going to be pointing straight at Venom once it was time for our final assault on Andross.

All in all, the assault on Area 6 was easier than I had expected it to be. Really, the only problems we had were trying to move out of the way of enemy forces that were trying to have a go at us. With a few shots of hyper lasers, however, it was easy to combat this problem.

"This is going to be great!" shouted Ian, detonating a smart bomb when we ran into some incoming enemy missiles. I had thought for sure that we were going to have to painstakingly shoot all of them before making our way gingerly through, but Ian's way had worked just as well.

"Nice job, Ian!" Lucas said. "Keep up the good work, guys. We're closing in on the boss".

I really hoped that he was right. Even though Area 6 had a beautiful view of Venom, the toxic planet wasn't really the prettiest sight. It was mainly refreshing to be able to see that we did have an end goal in sight, and that we weren't on some wild goose chase.

* * *

Eventually, we reached the end of the ships. Ian and Cole in particular were very helpful with shooting down the enemies, and I was just thankful that we had the whole team together. We were going to make this work!

"Is it time for Gorgon yet?" Ian asked.

Just as soon as he had finished saying that, a large disc-shaped creature with three tentacles entered into our line of vision.

 _Ian, you HAD to open your fat mouth right there!_ I thought.

Of course, when I stopped to consider those mental words for more than a second, I realized that it would almost certainly have come even without Ian's words. Really, Andross had probably already prepared Area 6 for us, just to make sure we couldn't pass it.

"Shoot at it!" I shouted.

Lucas immediately started firing lasers out of his Arwing, and it was having an effect on the tentacles. Clearly, he knew how this boss was meant to be defeated. It was a pretty long process in order to do it, and not something you could do easily if you weren't careful. This was just the way it was.

First, you had to destroy all three of the tentacles. After that, the being would open up its core, which you could then shoot at. You'd need to shoot it down three times before defeating the entire battle machine, and it used everything it had against you. After all, it was the last line of defense for Venom, so why wouldn't it be as strong as Andross could throw at you?

"Good going, Lucas!" Falco said.

We all shot at the Gorgon's tentacles as much as we could, but, following Falco's advice, we didn't use bombs on it. I knew that they were just not the best route to go with this boss. Really, we were just trying to get this thing down.

The core of the boss went from blue to yellow, and then to red. Once the core had been shot a little more, the core exploded, along with the rest of the battle machine.

"Great job, guys!" Falco said. "Let's get back to the Great Fox! We just took Area 6!"

* * *

It was great that we had just taken back such an important area. After the Area 6 defense zone, there was only one thing left to do, and that was to head to Bolse and take that satellite. After that, the war would be ours to lose.

"You looking forward to getting rid of Andross?" Lucas asked me.

I nodded. Andross and his cronies had been responsible for so much suffering, for both us and others. As I headed to dinner that night, I thought about how we had yet another battle tomorrow. I really was getting sucked back into that routine, getting used to near-daily battles. Really, it wasn't something that I was happy about, but I understood that there was really no other option. Not if I wanted to enact my revenge.

I'd already gotten revenge on Wolf O'Donnell. Now, only Andross stood in the way of myself and satisfaction.

* * *

 **COLE'S POV**

It took us two days to work our way down to Bolse, the defense satellite that guarded Venom from the easy path. In order to take the fight to Venom, it would really help if we were able to recapture or destroy Bolse, since it was their only line of defense left.

After eating breakfast, something that I was increasingly appreciating each day due to the fact that it just might be the last meal I ever ate, we all got in our Arwings in order to begin with the battle.

I saw the satellite, which was a cubic shape and looked almost like a miniature version of some ultra-modern Chinese city, with all of those lights and skyscrapers. I also took note of all of the enemies below.

Being a scared white boy from a black neighborhood in Detroit, I knew enough about fighting in order to be a real asset in the battles I was a part of with Star Enfield. I was a little less trigger-happy this time. Because this fight was in all-range mode, I could not afford to hit one of my allies. If I did that, and they got seriously injured as a result, I didn't think that I'd be able to forgive myself, or they'd be able to forgive me.

I saw a few Venomian ships come near me, so I gave them a smart bomb right in their faces. That dissuaded quite a few more of them from coming near me, I figured. After that, it was mainly a matter of helping out my friends.

Lucas had an enemy on his tail, so I boosted in order to get to it before shooting the enemy.

"Thanks for saving me, Cole!" Lucas said, before shooting an enemy off of Ian's back.

We spent the next few minutes backing each other up, helping each other out of whatever situations we ended up in. Really, we were quite a team.

After a few more enemies were shot down, a loud, rumbling noise emanated from the center of the cube. "What's that?" Ian asked.

Before anyone could answer, a large silver pillar rose from the center of the satellite. This pillar had a large number of yellow buttons on it.

"This is the core!" Falco shouted. "Shoot it!"

We did, and I was very careful to not hit any of my allies, just like usual. I knew that there was nothing else in our way from here to Venom. And, since the crowd of enemies had mostly dissipated by now, all we had to do was keep shooting and then we'd have won.

Sure enough, it didn't take too much longer for the core of the satellite to explode. After that, I sat back in my cockpit, relaxed in the realization that...

We had done it.


	13. Chapter 13

**This is the story's longest chapter in a while, so I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

It took us a week of circling around Venom to get to a point that we could actually land on it. We wanted to make sure that there were no enemies stalking us as we landed and made our way to the temple of Andross, which was where, we assumed, we were going to face the enemies this time.

This was a very angsty week for me, needless to say. Now that the burden of managing my illness seemed to be off of me, you would think that I would feel relieved, and I did. Also, it was relieving to know that this would be the final battle. Win or lose, it would be over after today.

In spite of all of this, however, it was hard to be happy when you knew that your final battle was going to be the most treacherous one you had ever faced.

On August 14, however, we decided that we were going to descend on the planet. We couldn't afford to wait any longer. Already, according to Falco, Venomian ships were heading to Corneria, ready to attack. We didn't know why they had waited so long, but they were doing it now, so our main goal was to stop it.

"Let's do this!" Konstantin said enthusiastically.

I wished that I could have shared his enthusiasm. I really did. However, when I thought of just how enormous a battle this was going to be, I just couldn't.

We opened the door of the Great Fox and were immediately greeted with the sulfurous air that smelled of rotten eggs. It was a good thing that we weren't going to be there for very long, and we could see the entrance to the temple within just a few hundred yards.

"I'm coming with you this time" Dr. Howler said.

I looked at her, confused. She sure seemed to be betting all of our lives in hopes that none of us got hurt. The reason she'd stayed on the ship for many of our previous battles was because we needed to have someone to treat the wounded. Since Tigre Howler was the only licensed medical practitioner on the Great Fox, where would that leave us if one of us needed medical help?

"Why?" I asked her, trying to glean an answer to this very question.

"You might need my help, and I really want to take a part in this final battle" she said, licking her lips.

For the first time since I'd met her, Dr. Howler seemed to be acting like a tiger, or how you'd think a tiger would act. I decided at that moment that I liked the more motherly version of her better. The type that had saved my life on numerous occasions, that was the one.

Even so, I couldn't worry about it too much. I knew that this was our last shot at returning justice to the Lylat System, and ensuring, or doing our very best, and making sure that there was justice in the Lylat System for many years to come. I knew that everyone here deserved it, as well as those on Corneria.

"I'm ready to do this" Cole said.

"Me too" Ian said. "Let's just get this over with".

Falco nodded, and then he led the way inside the temple. During the time we were crossing the threshold, I was pondering revenge on Andrew Oikonny. He'd torn my relationship with Willow apart. He'd also caused me to kill Jack Novsky, one of the most valuable people for us during the Anglar blitz. There was no doubt that he deserved an end every bit as awful as Wolf O'Donnell's had been. I found myself in a similar position to what Konstantin had been in last March, seeking revenge against Wolf.

I felt the rage consume me as we entered the temple.

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

The last time we had been on Venom, it had not resulted in good memories for me. We'd split up, and I had ended up with Lucas and Jack. I'd witnessed Andrew shoot Lucas with a tranquilizer dart, causing him to collapse. While unconscious, Andrew had injected Lucas with a drug that caused him to go crazy and kill Jack by shooting him with his blaster.

Later, I'd gotten shot with a laser in the main battle, similar to how Lucas had been on Fichina. My recovery had not been as bad as Lucas's, but I still didn't look back fondly on it. I'd been unable to trust him after he'd killed Jack, since I was worried that he'd become abusive towards me. I didn't know what basis I had to believe that, but I did all the same.

This time, we decided to split up once again. I was going to take the tunnel to the left, which was Olive Drab (#679123) in color, along with Ian and Cole. Falco and Dr. Howler were taking the Blue Diamond (#502B78) tunnel to the right, and Lucas and Konstantin were going to take the International Orange (#FF4F00) tunnel right in front of us.

Even though this had happened months ago, I couldn't shake the feeling that, since someone with Lucas had lost his life last time, this might be the last time I saw Konstantin. Despite the fact that I cared about my boyfriend more than the Texan, I still didn't want to see him die, knowing that there was a chance that I might have been able to do something had I been with him.

I just had to trust that they were going to be okay, and focus on the things that I _could_ control. Namely, keeping Cole and Ian safe.

"In case we never meet again..." Falco began.

"Falco, don't be such a pessimist!" his wife reminded him.

"I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic" the avian said. "In any case, guys...be safe. I want to all meet in Andross's throne room in one piece, no excuses".

He sounded like such a chaperone at that point that I could barely stop myself from laughing out loud. Falco Lombardi could be hilarious, at times unintentionally, even as the mood was somber. I didn't know if whoever survived that day was going to be able to understand him fully.

* * *

At first, things were going pretty well. Cole, Ian, and I, although we didn't have small talk, were reasonably calm, cool, and collected on the outside. They were probably both nervous on the inside, as was I. Had I been at a spelling bee at school, I probably would have not been able to spell my own name.

We also didn't encounter any enemies, which was a mixed bag. While it was true that it was a good thing that we had run into nobody thus far, that didn't really mean anything. If anything, it really only served to unnerve me more, which was one thing I did _not_ need.

After a while, we came across what seemed to be the entrance to another room. "I recognize this room" said Cole.

I didn't know what this room was, but it looked kind of like a factory warehouse, with all of the conveyor belts. The pit that we were in went down so far that, for all I knew, it was to the very center of Venom. I knew, at that point, that I didn't want to find out.

"You do?" Ian asked him.

"Yeah" Cole said. "The first war, Falco and I found Andross's brain in here. This was, of course, before he had risen. Now that he has...should we be worried about being in here?"

"Probably no more so than we were last time, or we should be anyways" I told him.

"Fair enough" Cole replied. "Let's jump".

"Are you _crazy?_ " I asked. The closest conveyor belt to where we were standing had to be about fifteen feet below us, far enough down for me to break my leg. I knew that, after the explosion at the science lab that had nearly taken both myself and Ian, I didn't need that to happen.

"Maybe" the Detroit native replied. "But there's only one way to find out".

Like a lunatic, Cole ran forward and propelled himself off the edge of the conveyor. He was in freefall for a split second before landing on it. Getting up quickly and brushing the dust off of his body, he said, "It's okay for you to jump!"

Ian strode forward and dropped like a stone. I wasn't about to refuse to do what Cole and Ian had both done. My stepfather might call that peer pressure, but I saw it as a practicality. I wanted to see this through to the end with my friends, and I wasn't going to let that chance slip through my fingers.

I jumped.

There was the sensation of falling, but the impact wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be. It felt cushioned, in a way, something I was very grateful for. Anything that would prevent me from getting hurt was very much welcome.

"Let's go now" Cole said. "Never mind...we're cornered".

* * *

It took me a few seconds to realize that he was right. On both sides of the conveyor belt, there was a small fleet of Anglar aliens. And I had thought that that threat was ended; evidently, it _wasn't._

"Take out your blasters!" Ian yelled, which all three of us did. Then, we started shooting.

Most of the Anglars were cannon fodder; after all, they weren't at the same strength that they had been during the main Anglar blitz. Effectively, they were barely a threat any longer.

For the most part, I was a pretty good shot. I don't mean to brag by saying this, I'm just telling it like it is.

A few of the Anglars had guns of their own, and they were showing that they weren't afraid to shoot them. However, I was really more focused on getting the task done than they were, to the point that I almost felt sorry for them. I'd never had much sympathy for any of Andross's cronies, except for the departed Victor, but this was different. These little aliens didn't seem to have done anything wrong of their own accord.

We got most of them down pretty easily, but I saw Cole flinch in pain. One of the Anglar's lasers had evidently pierced his leg, as there was now a spot of blood on it.

"Cole! Are you okay?" I yelled.

"Yes, I'm fine" he said. "Let's keep on going. Andross isn't getting any closer to us!"

* * *

 **FALCO'S POV**

I felt that I had no choice but to hold the hand of my newlywed wife. After all, we'd only been married for two months, but I knew that I didn't want to lose Tigre in this battle on Venom.

Of course, this didn't _really_ make that much difference, but it did make me feel better. Looking into her eyes, I could tell that it at least made Tigre feel better, so that in itself made it worth it.

The only exception to this rule was when we ran into enemies, which happened pretty often. When this happened, we stood apart from each other to fire our blasters without worrying about hitting each other.

Tigre was a much better shot with a blaster than one might have expected. I supposed that all of her medical training, including inserting IVs and performing surgery, had to be helping her now. She was focusing on shooting those behind her, nailing her lasers in the most important spots.

Back when Lucas had gotten shot the first time on Fichina, it had been in the leg, and had not been quite as deadly as it would have been had he been shot in the heart. Tigre was getting their chests easily.

"Great going, Tigre!" I called to her.

"I'm doing my best" she said.

As much as I loved the woman, I was a little wary about how brutal she could be when it came to guns. I didn't see that as grounds for divorce, at least not right yet, but that did make me think a little more about our marriage.

At a certain point, we reached another tunnel. The color of the wall had just switched from purple to orange.

"Let's see what's on the end of it" I said.

Making sure there were no other enemies behind us at the moment, we took a left turn and ended up somewhere entirely different.

* * *

The room was magnificent. We were standing on top of a catwalk that looked like it was part of some kind of laboratory. Far below us, maybe three or four stories, there were tables that cut pathways through the room. There were also some Petri dishes as well, and our catwalk was right next to a shelf that contained some books.

"Do you like this place, Tigre?" I asked her. I assumed that my wife, as someone who was pretty science-minded, would be a fan of this lab.

"Well, it's on Venom, Falco" she said. "I am not sure that I am a fan of it".

I understood that. There was another thing that I could tell was probably worrying her as well.

Below us, there was a large, purple creature. It looked somewhat metallic, and yet it was also purple in color. Plus, it looked kind of like someone I recognized.

"Wolf O'Donnell" my wife gasped.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

I'd been having a good time with Konstantin, if you could call a battle like this a _good time._ Really, I didn't see it as very fun, but the Texan, three years older than me, really did enjoy battles. If he survived the day, I was going to need to ask him why he was so into warlike interests.

"There's a door at the end of this hallway" Konstantin said.

I analyzed the door. It was white in color, and it looked kind of like something you would see in a hospital...or a laboratory. Really, it just looked science-y, if that is even a word. I _really_ hoped that it didn't lead to _that_ place...how many laboratories could there be in the Venomian caverns?

"Should we go in?" I asked.

Konstantin nodded. It was easy enough for _him_ to say that; he hadn't been in that lab when I'd been manipulated into killing Jack Novsky. We might have been back together now, but it had still torn me and Willow apart.

I opened the doors, and I felt like I had stepped back in time.

* * *

It was indeed the same laboratory in which I had killed Jack. Petri dishes stacked up to a hundred high, rows of tables...it was all too familiar.

The memories came rushing back, too. Andrew Oikonny had knocked me out with a tranquilizer dart and injected me with an incredibly powerful drug that would cause me to go insane, basically. It caused me to kill our ally and weapons expert, which was what had destroyed my relationship with Willow. Ever since then, I'd had a grudge against Andrew that was probably just as strong as Konstantin's had been against Wolf.

Of course, there was _something_ that had to go wrong. As soon as we turned a corner, trying to find some way out of here besides the way we had come in, I saw that there was a large purple statue-like object that looked very deadly, as it was moving.

Konstantin turned pale. "Is that...".

I looked at the twenty-year-old Texan man. I had known him for seven months now, but I had never seen such fear on his face. It was definitely something new, and unsettling. Normally, Konstantin Brockenbough was one of the bravest people I knew.

Then, I saw what he was looking at. The purple statue looked kind of like...like...

"Hello, Konstantin" said the sneering voice of Wolf O'Donnell.

* * *

I didn't know how it was possible. According to Konstantin, Wolf was dead. Had he been lying that time?

Why would Konstantin have lied? I'd always known him to tell the truth. Even so, that voice was unmistakeable...

"I'm back!" Wolf called.

Looking at the way it moved, I said, "It's not the real Wolf, Konstantin. It's an automaton!"

Konstantin, the way he was poised, as if to take down Wolf, looked, for all intents and purposes, like the Angry Video Game Nerd. He took out a knife he'd taken from the Great Fox.

"You took a knife from the kitchen?" I asked him.

Konstantin smiled at me. "I like to be prepared. I'm going to destroy this thing. Find cover, Lucas!"

I looked around the room, trying to see if anything I could find might be suitable. Really, there wasn't much in the way of cover around, but I had to find whatever I could and roll with it.

As I knelt down besides one of the lab tables, I saw Konstantin spring into action as if he was also an automaton. Brandishing his knife, he charged at Wolf.

* * *

It was clear that there was still plenty of beef between the fake Wolf and Konstantin. It had often been said that you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, since they couldn't defend themselves, but I consider that ridiculous. They're not alive anymore, and so you can say whatever you want about them. Either they won't be able to hear it, or they won't care.

In any case, the robotic Wolf was fast, faster than the real Wolf had been. It had soon pinned Konstantin to the ground, but the Texan was stronger than I had given him credit for. It was like a horse race, this fight was intense.

Konstantin pushed Wolf off of him and then clambered on top of the lupine. "You didn't think I'd go down so easily, did you?" he said, laughing. Soon, he had his arms around the automaton, and was trying to cut off its air supply.

"Stupid me!" Konstantin yelled. "Robots don't have to breathe!"

He was right. Within an instant, the purple version of Wolf O'Donnell had gotten back up and was pointing its gun at Konstantin. Konstantin pulled his own blaster out and shot at Wolf, trying to get in a good hit so that he could short-circuit this guy. Of course, that had been too optimistic.

All that happened was that Konstantin's laser was harmlessly bounced back at him, and the Texan had to dodge out of the way. Wolf then fired a laser of his own, which Konstantin managed to dodge.

The whole time, I knelt behind that table, paralyzed in shock. Andross really was a maniac...he'd created Konstantin's worst nightmare and caused it to manifest itself right here. The poor young man was doing his best not to let his fear get the better of him.

Konstantin fired once again and ducked as the beam was once again repelled back towards him. Even so, I could tell that it was working. Some marks had begun to appear on the purple metallic casing, and I could only hope that this was all it took for the thing to eventually be taken down. I was going to be more than okay with that, because this fake Wolf wasn't our primary target. We were only here as a waystation on the path to Andross, I reminded myself.

"You're not going to defeat me!" Wolf yelled.

"I _am_!" Konstantin yelled.

As if to prove his point, the Texan lunged out with his knife once again, but Wolf was ready. Grabbing him, as if this was _Super Smash Bros.,_ he began to pummel Konstantin with his leg. The guy was getting owned by an automaton.

Wolf then grabbed Konstantin by the leg, and, before I could say anything, before I could get anything else to happen, he threw the Texan into the opposite wall, knocking him unconscious. Konstantin's limp body slid to the floor.

The purple robot then ran over to Konstantin, and, before I could utter a single word, ran his knife directly through Konstantin's heart.

And I ran. I ran so far away.

* * *

 **COLE'S POV**

I could just tell that we were getting close. I didn't know how I knew it, but I just did.

"I can sense it too" Willow said, as if she was reading my mind.

I looked at her. During her time as Secretary Of State, before she had gotten back with Lucas, she'd looked very tense. Now, however, Lucas seemed to be having a moderating influence on her mood. She looked much happier ever since we'd started on this quest and Lucas had been cured.

Now, the old Willow was back. She looked very tense, not happy that we were about to face our most powerful enemy yet. If we survived today, we would likely move on to even bigger and greater things than we could ever imagine. However, that wouldn't happen if we died here. I wanted to live. I really did.

We fought more enemies, but I knew that those were only distractions. The real show was going to be at the end of this hallway, I just knew it. I only hoped that we would be able to survive the encounter.

"Guys, this is it!" Ian yelled as he helped to shoot down an enemy I didn't realize was right on my tail. Before I could thank him for it, another Anglar came and tried to shoot me, but I was ready for it this time.

My injured leg gave a twitch of pain every single time I put weight on it. However, I knew that it wouldn't be able to stop me, not if I wanted to help defeat Andross and save the Lylat System.

Finally, we ended up in front of a brilliant crimson door with golden trim all over it. The more I looked at it, I realized that this was clearly Andross's throne room. There really was no other possibility. Not when it was so prominent. I only wished that Victor Halsmith could have still been with us, so that he could verify whether or not this was the case.

"Let's head in" Ian said. There were no more enemies behind us, so we didn't have to worry about that.

The only thing left to fear was what lay ahead of us.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

Numb.

That was how I felt as I ran down the corridors outside the laboratory. I ran like my life depended on it, which it did. I didn't even get tired; it felt more like I was using a special energy force, one that only came into play when one was extremely exhausted. Maybe you could call that adrenaline, but this felt like it was something else entirely.

Konstantin Brockenbough was dead. There was no way around it.

I couldn't believe it. As I ran at speeds that felt like they would put a racehorse to shame, I kept on looking behind me, but I saw no signs of the robotic Wolf. Maybe he'd been designed to only kill Konstantin, and then let me go. I couldn't assume anything was true, but neither could I assume anything was false. I had to follow where the evidence took me.

Right now, however, I was too much in shock to think rationally. I'd always assumed that if Konstantin had been able to survive several days without water in an underground cell, on death row, he surely would have been able to survive mortal combat against his sworn enemy, or an automaton version of said enemy.

I had just been proven wrong. Konstantin Brockenbough, the tough Texan guy, the military commander, the _consummate survivor..._ dead. There was no way he could have survived getting stabbed straight through the heart. There was just no way.

And, worse yet, I didn't know if we'd be able to defeat Andross without his help. Konstantin was so great at military maneuvers...could he be the only thing allowing us to win?

 _No._ I couldn't think like that. I had to believe that this was still possible. Without hope, we had nothing.

* * *

As soon as I made my way through a cyan door, I saw a sight that instantly bore a germ of hope deep inside of me.

Cole, Willow, Ian, Dr. Howler, and Falco were all standing right in front of me. I could tell that the room we were in was very large, but not much else about it. Really, I wasn't going to be the best person to analyze it.

"Lucas!" Willow said, running up to me. I allowed her to give me a kiss on the cheek, because this was kind of a special occasion. Plus, I needed emotional support after what I had just gone through.

I fell to my knees, realizing just how exhausted I was. Running all of that distance, which must have been five miles or more, had really taken its toll on me.

Dr. Howler caught me, although I didn't lose consciousness. She helped me sit down on the ground, which, once again, was pretty embarrassing, letting someone else help you sit down when you're seventeen years old and more than six feet tall.

"What's wrong, Lucas?" Falco asked. Looking around, he seemed to suddenly notice that we were missing one of our own. "Where's Konstantin?"

I could feel my voice beginning to break as I said, "Dead".

"How?" Ian gasped. The two of them, whom I considered to be the two nerdiest of our little group of outcasts, always seemed to be closer to each other than any of the others of us.

"There was a robotic Wolf" I said. "It went and...killed him. Andross is one sick maniac, I can tell you that much".

"Ohh...a sick maniac, you say?" said a quiet, evil voice.

I looked around and was able to take in the full size of the room. It must have been, easily, the size of two high school gymnasiums, with a large brown throne on one end. The whole room was made out of brown stone, in fact. And, striding into the room was a sight for sore eyes.

Andross.

* * *

The monkey scientist looked as repelling as always. With his gray beard, slightly overweight body, and labcoat, he didn't look like someone Willow Foster would want to date. Of course, that didn't really matter, because his deeds were far worse than his appearance.

"Hello, Star Enfield" he said in his usual, metallic-sounding voice. He turned to face us.

"Enough games!" Cole yelled. "Have you really killed Konstantin Brockenbough?"

Andross laughed again. It was a horrible sound. " _I_ didn't kill him. I created that purple automaton of Wolf O'Donnell, and it did the dirty work for me".

"Fuck you!" I yelled. Dr. Howler didn't seem to care about my use of explicit language, because she didn't say anything.

"This is my true form" Andross said as he walked over to a panel by the wall. This panel had a lot of different buttons on it, making it look kind of like something you might find in an intensive care unit in a hospital. The six of us watched as Andross fiddled with the console.

"What's he doing?" Willow asked Falco.

Falco looked a combination of angry and scared when he answered. "I don't know, but if it's what I _think_ it is...".

Andross cackled as he continued punching in what seemed to be some sort of code. "It _is_ what you think, Falco Lombardi. It's exactly that".

Was Andross really going to take his true form? The sight of it in the video game would be enough to give most people nightmares. I recalled a giant, floating brain with a large stem and detached eyes...if it was half of that, Willow would probably faint. Indeed, anyone but Dr. Howler might.

"Here we go" the mad scientist said. I could see that he was glowing pink...this couldn't be good.

There was a flash of light so bright that I had to close my eyes, then I opened them again. When I could see again, I noticed that things were very different.

Andross had assumed his true form.

* * *

None of us spoke for a while, but then Cole yelled, "It is _on_ now, you sick monkey!"

Andross only cackled. He was in his brain form, with the eyes bulging out. Looking backwards, I saw that Willow had indeed fainted at the sight. I'd never thought her to be so squeamish with regards to things like this, but I supposed that Andross might just be one of those things.

Cole ran up to Andross, trying to be able to shoot his eyes. Since Andross was floating only a few feet above the ground, Cole also tried to kick the brainstem, probably hoping that this might have an effect. As far as I could see, however, it wasn't going to be too effective, and he'd need to find a different strategy.

I stood there and cheered him on, while Falco took out his blaster and began shooting. However, it was clear to see that this only served to possibly hurt Cole, as his wife told him.

"Good point, Tigre" Falco said, putting his blaster back in its holster. I knew that he was now going to be relying on his martial art skills in order to help my friend defeat Andross. I wasn't sure how much help that was going to be, but it sure looked like that was going to be the best that we had.

It was very back and forth, with Andross's brain form appearing to be winning in one moment, and then Cole in the next. Really, I didn't see how I could guess who was going to win.

That was, until the tentacles in the brain managed to engulf Cole. The black-haired Detroit native was sucked in. I could tell, or at least presume, that he'd been getting tired from this constant tit-for-tat, but I hadn't thought it was going to be a big deal. Clearly, I'd been wrong.

Cole immediately started thrashing, trying to get out of the brain's tentacles and be able to rejoin the fight. Dr. Howler gasped as the tentacles began to make indents into Cole's body. Dark red blood oozed from multiple gashes that were being created.

"Do something!" Willow shouted.

Falco shook his head. "There's naught we can do. He's been well and truly snookered".

I looked up and saw that Cole's face was indeed turning blue. Was he being strangled? Well, this certainly looked like a pretty terrible way to die.

"Lucas! Defeat him...for me...for everything we hold dear!"

Then, Andross dropped him to the ground.

The sight of Cole's body made me go insane. That energy, the type of energy I had never known I had, was now being put to use.


	14. Chapter 14

**This is NOT the longest chapter in Rise Of The Enemy, that's still Chapter 4. It must have been a disappointing final book, but remember that I was pretty much over it by this point, and this is a REASON, not an excuse. The lackluster chapters were a product of my excitement for Four Seasons.**

 **In addition, I wrote this entire chapter without an outline. This is all raw, so enjoy the final main chapter of Rise Of The Enemy!**

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

I saw Lucas spring into action like a clown out of a jack-in-the-box. Really, I hadn't known him to be that quick, but apparently what Andross had just done to Cole was what gave him the energy he needed. He'd already been exhausted from the run here, no doubt, and this fight was no doubt making it worse.

He immediately started dodging Andross's every attack like it was nothing, running around the room at speeds that would likely have made him pass out had this been a normal situation. Of course, it _wasn't_ a normal situation, but I could only stand back in awe. Any worry or grief I had had about Cole was gone, replaced by adrenaline. I wanted to get up and fight with Lucas.

I saw Lucas whip his blaster out and begin shooting at Andross's eyes. I tried not to focus on Cole's broken body below him, but it was hard. I could only hope that...no, Dr. Howler would be able to bring him back. There was no way that Cole McCallen could be dead.

In any case, Lucas kept on hitting Andross. Eventually, the mad scientist turned back human. I wasn't sure how that happened, but this gave Lucas even more opportunity. With a few whips of his gun, he was able to bring the monkey to his knees.

"Have mercy on me, Enfield!" Andross shouted in a desperate plea to get Lucas to spare his life. As soon as he had finished saying that, I saw a deadly look appear in my boyfriend's eyes, one I had never seen before.

"I'm sorry. You have caused too much pain, to too many people, to be allowed to live. I hope you enjoy rotting in hell".

Lucas continued on bashing the mad scientist with what must have been everything he had. Blood spurted outwards from the monkey's body, but Andross wasn't done yet. He grabbed onto Lucas's arm, and I could see that my boyfriend's goal had quickly become to keep Andross in as much pain as possible, to prevent him from causing Lucas as much pain as possible.

Eventually, Lucas managed to break free of Andross's grasp and began running around him, whacking Andross with his gun. Why he didn't just shoot the monkey is beyond me, but he probably wanted Andross to feel as much pain as possible during his death. I could definitely agree with that.

By the time Andross finally went still, Lucas wasn't done yet. He kept on going, absolutely _brutalizing_ the monkey's corpse. At this point, it was just wasteful. I had no love for Andross, but I didn't think his corpse deserved _this_ much.

Finally, Lucas stood back. You could see Andross's heart, that was how much Lucas had mutilated his corpse.

He looked back at us. Smiling, he said, "We won".

Immediately thereafter, he collapsed to the ground.

* * *

Falco ran over and caught him. Taking off Cole's shirt, he placed it under Lucas's head to use as a pillow.

"Why is he unconscious?" Ian asked Dr. Howler.

The Bengal tiger looked at him with an odd expression. "I'm not sure. We'll be taking him back to the Great Fox, I'll make a stretcher here. And one for Cole, too".

I perked up at that last sentence. "So Cole's still got a shot?"

Dr. Howler shook her head sadly. "He's gone. Those tentacles...there's no way he's still alive".

Falco put his ear to the chest of the Detroit native, in order to listen to Cole's heart. "Sorry. Nothing we can do. He's too far gone".

I had expected joy and relief would come once we had defeated Andross, and accomplished our goal. Instead, I was right here...with two of my friends dead. I had never dreamed that victory would come at such a cost.

"If you want to make sure your boyfriend's okay, Willow, I suggest you help with the stretcher. Tigre's making one right now".

I went over and saw that Dr. Howler was trying to find some materials to use to carry Lucas back up to the ship. "Never mind" she said, noticing that there was a closet nearby, with stretchers hanging outside of it.

Dr. Howler and Falco helped to strap Lucas into one stretcher, and the deceased body of Cole into another. Since Konstantin had died miles away from here, and the only living person who knew where he was was lying unconscious on one of the stretchers, there was a fat chance of finding it.

"There's a stasis machine on the Great Fox" the Bengal tiger said. "We can make sure Cole's body does not decay until we get back to Corneria, where we can hold a proper funeral. And we'll hold a memorial service for Konstantin. Two brave young men".

Falco nodded tiredly, as if he was just eager to get this over with. Once again, I could relate to the guy.

And, something else, to put the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that had already melted?

It was my birthday.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

Two days had passed since the battle on Venom. According to Falco's estimation, it would take us roughly four days to reach Corneria again, meaning that we were halfway through the journey.

I had spent most of those two days thinking about the losses we had suffered. Konstantin, twenty years old, had still had so much life ahead of him...he could have been a great father, I thought, if only he'd had the chance. Not that Konstantin had ever been one to like women...for all I knew, he had been gay, just because he didn't want a girlfriend. I'd never know now.

Lucas had been taken into med bay as soon as we'd arrived back on the Great Fox. Dr. Howler, after performing some examinations on him, had determined that he was in something slightly akin to a coma, but he was going to wake up at some point. She still wasn't sure about the cause of his collapse, but she thought that he might have used up so much energy during the final battle that his body had just given out. She wasn't sure exactly why the fight should have been so draining, but the adrenaline rush might have been the cause.

He still hadn't woken up, but this didn't worry the doctor. It worried me, however. I just wanted to see him awake, and talking to me.

With Dr. Howler's permission, I went and visited med bay. Looking over at Lucas's bed, I saw that he had an IV in so that he didn't get dehydrated. He didn't have any other machines except the heart monitor, which, according to the doctor, was because he was breathing normally.

"The one worry I have" Dr. Howler said, "is that his muscle starts deteriorating. Certainly, he might need some physical therapy once he's awake, but I remain confident that he _will_ wake. He just needs rest, that's all".

"Not anymore" said a sleepy voice from the bed.

We both turned to see that Lucas had awoken. He was moving very little, but his eyes were starting to open.

"Hey, sleepyhead, how's it going?" I asked him.

"I just...had a bad dream. Or was it a good dream? It was...bittersweet" he said, in a slightly muffled tone of voice.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Andross...we were fighting him...and I went ballistic. But...Cole...he died? I don't know. It was kind of hazy".

Dr. Howler laughed sadly. "That wasn't a dream, Lucas. That was real".

Lucas gave a deep sigh, as if he had just had a particularly satisfying drink, before falling asleep again.

"Let's get Willow in here" she said. "Except...how will she know that he woke up?"

"We wouldn't lie to her" I told her.

"Fair enough".

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

In years to come, my memory of the final battle with Andross was always hazy. Some form of energy that I'd always possessed, if it had been given to me through evolution or whatever, had come alive within me and caused me to go crazy on the mad scientist. I wasn't thinking clearly, I was just that full of adrenaline.

I woke up in the med bay of the Great Fox. I remembered waking up briefly earlier, and talking to Dr. Howler and Ian...but I'd just been dreaming it. It was much like that time I'd gotten my appendix out, back when I was thirteen. I'd woken up from anesthesia, and in the haze of drugs I'd erroneously referred to my surgeon as "Dad" and ripped out my IV. Really, that was the only comparison I could make.

Every muscle in my body was aching, as if I had just run ten marathons back-to-back. My mouth felt like it was lined with sand, and yet I felt too exhausted to drink. Looking up and to my left, I saw a usual sight.

 _Ugh. SO sick of IVs._

I saw that I also had a heart monitor attached, and my waking up triggered Dr. Howler to come over to my bedside. She had a look on her face that looked both relieved and concerned at the same time, if that was even possible.

"Hey, Lucas, are you in pain?" she asked me.

I shook my head. That was the truth; I wasn't.

"You thirsty?" she said.

I nodded, and she poured me a glass of water. She helped me to sit up in order to drink it, since I was feeling pretty weak. Once my vocal cords had been rehydrated, I was able to ask, "How long have I been out?"

"A little more than two days. You've been sleeping for a long time" she said unnecessarily.

"Why?" Normally, I was lucky if I got eight hours of sleep, let alone more than six times that. Hearing that I'd been out for _days..._ that was something.

"We think that you used up so much energy while battling Andross that...your body just had to put you out for long enough to heal. That's just what we think happened".

I nodded. "Andross?"

The Bengal tiger's face suddenly looked alarmed. "You don't remember?"

I chuckled. "I remember just fine. We beat him, right?"

Dr. Howler nodded. "Your girlfriend will want to talk to you for sure. She saw you earlier while you were sleeping, and she's a little...disturbed by the way you killed Andross. It's like you just went all crazy".

I remembered how I'd killed Jack some months before, and how Willow had taken a long time to forgive me for that. Hopefully, since Andross had been our enemy, she'd be a little more kind towards me. I could hope.

That didn't change the fact that I had absolutely brutalized the mad scientist. I had a hazy memory of it, but that was all it was; a hazy memory. As in, it wasn't all that clear. All I knew was that whatever I had done caused my bones to ache as if I had the flu.

"You just sit tight there, and I'll get Willow to come in. How's that?" she asked me.

I was pretty happy that I was going to get to see Willow again. I was sure that she'd be happy to see me, at least for the most part.

I only had to wait a few minutes, watching the fluid drip into my veins and the stars of the Lylat System pass outside the windows of med bay, before she came in. Willow Foster.

She sat in a chair next to my bed and began to play with my hair, which had gotten shaggier in the two days I'd been unconscious.

"I've been worried about you, Lucas Enfield" she said.

"Why?"

"You weren't waking up for _two days_ , Lucas. You must have used up so much energy on Venom that you just couldn't stay on your feet. She took a sample of your blood immediately after, in order to try and see what might have happened, but there's just...I mean, they'll have to analyze it in the labs back on Corneria, to see what it was. For now, though, it looks like you're fine".

I nodded. "But...Cole?"

Willow's smile turned upside down. "He didn't make it. The tentacles of Andross just grabbed him, and he never stood a chance. I'm sorry, Lucas".

"No. I should have gone into action before then. I could have avoided that, and I wouldn't have gone into a coma. Would that have made you happier?"

"It wouldn't have. Really, I'm not so sure that it would have worked _without_ rage mode, as you might call it. You used up a lot of energy, but you're going to live. Really, I couldn't be happier about that. But, like you said, Cole's gone, and that's sad".

I was still trying to deal with the loss of _one_ of my friends, but I knew there was someone else. My memory was like a TV with a bad signal for the fight with Andross, but before that it was full HD. "Konstantin's gone".

"Yeah. What was it, an automaton Wolf that killed him?"

"Yes" I said, nodding.

"That guy was motivated by revenge until the very end. Even once he'd achieved it, he never let it get to him that he'd already won. Was that his undoing?"

"No" I said. "Konstantin Brockenbough was noble. I'm hoping that he gets a full state funeral once we get back to Corneria. Speaking of which, when are we going to be there?"

"Falco says the day after tomorrow, sometime in the morning. He's hoping that you'll feel better by then. How are you doing right now?"

"I'm just dandy" I said.

The truth was, I was feeling okay physically. I didn't feel too desperate for water, and my aches and pains were beginning to recede somewhat. On the other hand, I was a wreck emotionally. Losing two of your closest friends is never an easy thing to deal with.

"Great. Dr. Howler's going to come back soon, and she'll change your IV bag. She doesn't want to take you off it just yet, in a few hours she will, she says. See you later".

I waved at her as she was leaving. "See you later".

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

Normally, on the Great Fox, I spent my downtime playing video games with Konstantin, Cole, and Lucas. Since two of the three of them were dead, and the other one was still in too much grief to really get into it, that wasn't what I was doing anymore.

Instead, I holed myself up in my room, reading. I should have been relieved, jubilant even, at having won the war. All I could think about, however, were Konstantin and Cole, and how we were never going to see them again.

This was how things went for the final two days of our voyage. I visited Lucas in med bay, and later watched him take his first steps after his collapse, three days after losing consciousness. He was released right after that, but we weren't talking to each other that much. The grief was too much for us to bear.

 _Don't think that way, Ian,_ I said to myself. _Konstantin didn't die so you could live a life of sadness. Go enjoy it!_

After I came to that realization, and that this was what Cole and Konstantin would want me to do, I had a lot easier of a time putting my grief aside.

* * *

We landed on Corneria four days after the battle, around noon on August 18. Lucas was a lot steadier on his feet, and he walked along with the rest of us down the runway. I was reminded of the time after the second war during this, and I had to remind myself that, this time, the threat was _really_ over. At least, as far as we knew.

But we did know a lot. That was one thing that I'd always reminded myself, both now and earlier, in the labs.

The five of us entered a Cornerian government building to talk with James McCloud, who was a hologram, as well as Maisie Johnson, the acting President of Corneria.

Maisie walked up to us. "I presume that I no longer have to act as President of Corneria?"

"That is correct" Lucas said. Standing up to his full height of six foot two, he said, "I am willing to take back my duties as President. Trust me, that no longer feels onerous now that I've been to hell and back".

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"As you can see", Falco said, "two of our members, Cole Oliver McCallen and Konstantin Nikolai Brockenbough, are not here with us. Reason being, they perished on Venom. We did everything we could, but it just wasn't going to happen. They are gone" he said, trying not to cry.

"It's okay, Falco" his wife said, patting him on the back. "They're in a better place now".

This made me a little bit angry. None of us were that religious; Cole had been an atheist, and Konstantin had been an agnostic. Neither of them had believed in heaven. I felt that pretending they were in heaven was an insult to their memory. Willow, Lucas, and myself were all cultural Christians at most, and we all felt that it was more important to celebrate a person's life than their death when they were gone.

"In any case", James said, "I'm glad you have come back safely, although I am very sorry for your losses. But there are some congratulations I must hand out to each of you. The five of you, as well as the deceased McCallen and Brockenbough, will be given the highest of honors. Let's start with those who are no longer with us".

James presented us with a large crimson badge in the shape of the logo for the Star Fox team. He held it up in the air. "I was going to have you bury this with Konstantin's body, but do you have it?"

"No" Dr. Howler said. "Only Cole's, which is waiting in stasis on the Great Fox. We'll hold a memorial service, I presume?"

"Yes" James said. "In any case, Konstantin Brockenbough is going to be posthumously awarded with a Medal Of Honor, as well as an even higher award that we'll get to later. It will be placed on his tombstone; he at least deserves an honorary one even if his body is not present. Cole's body will also be buried with a Medal Of Honor, and each of the five living members of Star Enfield will also receive one".

A Medal Of Honor sounded pretty cool, I had to admit. Along with a large pension for life, I would also get the honor of being recognized for having served Corneria. It was my dream come true, to be completely honest.

"Tigre Howler, for your work in medicine, helping Lucas Enfield recover from his illness...all of your work on the Great Fox and at the Grey Clouds Flight Academy...you are hereby promoted to be Head of the Cornerian Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Are you going to accept this position?"

"I will, so long as I can continue to be the physician of Lucas Z. Enfield. Is that possible?"

"Yes" James said. "Do you wish to remain Lucas Z. Enfield's personal physician?"

"I do" said Dr. Howler. "And I accept the position".

She then poked Lucas in the back. "Did you hear that, kiddo? You're stuck with me!"

Lucas laughed as James moved on.

"Falco Lombardi, you will ascend to the position of being the head of the Cornerian Army. Maisie Johnson is retiring".

"Sold!" Falco said.

"Ian Keller..." James began. I was getting really pumped up; I was about to find out what job I would have in post-war Corneria.

"...you may take the position as being Deputy Head of the Science Commission of Corneria. Do you accept the position?"

There was never any doubt in my mind that I would accept any job relating to science. "I'm taking it".

"Very well. Willow Foster, you may remain Secretary Of State, and Lucas Enfield, you may remain as President. Will you do that?"

Both of them nodded. And so, Corneria's SOS and President remained the same as we walked out into the summer sun.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

After the body of Cole had been retrieved from the stasis unit on the Great Fox, we all took a presidential motorcade to the cemetery. The memorial service was being held for Konstantin as well, even though we had not been able to retrieve the body.

I felt a little like that was my fault. I knew where that body was, and yet I'd been too exhausted to do anything but pass out for two days once I had defeated Andross. Really, it _wasn't_ my fault, but the rational part of my brain wasn't really working.

As soon as we reached the cemetery, Cole's body was taken from the back of our limo and placed into a coffin. As it was being lowered into the ground, the secular priest (the same one, in fact, who had officiated the wedding of Falco and Dr. Howler two months before), said some words about the life of our friend, our fallen warrior.

"Cole Oliver McCallen was a tale of two worlds. There was the side of him that was a juvenile delinquent from Detroit, a scared white boy in a black neighborhood, who committed many bad deeds. Certainly, this side of Cole should not be celebrated. However, there was the side that helped Corneria defeat the Anglar forces, as well as Andross, and for that we must commend him. If only he were here to see us, we would be applauding him tremendously. That does not mean, however, that we cannot applaud him now. Thank you, Cole McCallen, for your life and tenure as a Senator".

The priest rubbed his eyes before continuing.

"Konstantin Nikolai Brockenbough was a very noble young man. He served in the military, and he was a very efficient commander. He helped us to win both wars, against both the Anglars and Andross, and this was what set him apart. Beyond that, he was always an intellectual young man rather than a brute-force one, and one that we must each try to emulate as much as possible. Thank you, Konstantin Brockenbough, for your life and military leadership".

We stood at the cemetery for a while longer, talking and sharing memories of Cole and Konstantin, two of the bravest people I had ever met. It was a bittersweet service, because, while I had very good memories of the two, the fact that they were no longer with us was difficult to get around.

I was _mostly_ happy when the service ended and we got back in the limo.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time we reached the Green House once again. I bade good-bye to Willow before getting out of the vehicle and heading into the presidential palace, along with Falco and Dr. Howler. Even though she now had a government job, she was still going to be my doctor for whatever health problems I might have in the future.

Entering the Purple Room, I thought about just how great it was to be home. At least, _here._

This brought me back to thinking about my parents. I had made amends with them, and I at least understood why they had done what they had done. Perhaps, sometime soon, Willow and I could visit them together. After all, the war was over. We could do pretty much whatever we wanted.

 _Did I want to get an Earthly education?_

I didn't think so. I'd gotten captured in the middle of tenth grade, and I didn't see that college would be necessary. I already had more money than I could ever need, because my pension from the military was going to be more than enough to live on. However long I decided to govern Corneria, that was how long I'd get to live in the Green House. Really, that was an option, just being President as long as I wanted to. There were no term limits, just what was determined by my lifetime.

 _And that will likely be many, many more years._

Indeed. I couldn't get over the fact, even though I'd been done with treatment more than two weeks ago, that I was _cured._ No more taking tons of medication. No more waking up and puking. No more worrying constantly that I was going to die.

I got up from my desk. There were no new bills for me to sign or veto today, so I went to have dinner with Falco and Dr. Howler. Even though I was mostly happy about defeating Andross, I picked at my food.

"Lucas, are you all right?" Falco asked me. "You've barely touched your food".

"It's just...Cole. And Konstantin. That was my fault".

"It wasn't your fault, Lucas" Dr. Howler said. "The way things were going, there was no way you could've stopped him".

"I could have helped, though" I said.

"You don't know that for sure" the avian told me. "Really, this was the best possible outcome, so let's just try to move forward. Make this a good life, because it's not what those two would have wanted, you always feeling guilty for that. Just live, Lucas".

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

Two days later, August 20, I was walking down by the harbor, enjoying some late-summer sunshine. It had been nearly a week since the battle on Venom, and I was mainly thinking about how we'd lost two of our own. It wasn't just that, though.

I knew that I was now seventeen years old. At the time, I hadn't really felt like celebrating, but now that we were out of danger I was thinking about it even more.

It was about ten in the morning, and I'd just eaten breakfast with Ian. Lucas still trusted me with other guys, and I had no desire to kiss Ian Keller.

We had a very nice conversation about how things were going, now that we were adjusting to normal life once again. Even though I was once again Secretary Of State, I had not yet had another meeting with Lucas. Ian had not yet started his new lab job, but would be in just a few days. He seemed very excited for it, and we were having a good time discussing our plans for the future.

Now, I was listening to the sound of a flock of seagulls along the ocean, as the fishermen of Corneria City were hauling up the catch of the day. Sometimes, I wished that things could be as simple as it was for those fish. All they had to sort out was how to escape from the people who wanted to catch and eat them. While that was no doubt quite scary for the little fishies, that didn't really compare to my having to sort out my feelings for one Lucas Z. Enfield.

I was sure that I liked, maybe even loved him. We'd been separated for three months, but I hadn't loved him during that period, or at least had _told_ myself that I didn't love him. Now, however, things were different. I hadn't seen him for two days, but by all accounts he had gotten back into the Presidency pretty well.

As I passed by the harbor, my phone rang, vibrating in my pants pocket. I picked it up and looked at the number, which was Lucas's.

I pressed the call button in order to talk to him. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Willow Foster. And happy belated birthday".

That pleased me. He'd remembered!

"Do you have anything planned?" I asked him, immediately wishing I hadn't. I figured that this was pretty rude to say to him just off the bat like that.

"Yes, I do" he said. "I found a portal in the Green House. I think that it goes back to the President's old hometown. Do you want to try it, have a nice picnic in the park in Swanville?"

I nodded. Then, remembering that Lucas couldn't hear me just nodding, said, "Yes. That sounds lovely".

"All right. I've gotten permission from Falco and Dr. Howler, but they're not coming. It's just me and you".

"I'll meet you at the Green House once I've gotten changed. How does that sound?"

"I like it!" Lucas said.

* * *

An hour later, I stood at the threshold of the Green House. After getting past the security by showing that I was the Secretary Of State, I walked in and found Lucas in the Orange Room.

"What's up?" I asked him.

His eyes lit up at the sight of me. "I'll show you the portal. Let's go" he said.

Lucas was holding a picnic basket in one hand and a blanket in the other, looking very much like a bellhop at a hotel. He also wasn't wearing a formal suit and tie, just his Star Fox T-shirt.

He led me to what looked like a large square, about eight feet by eight feet, that was in the middle of the basement.

"Can't believe it took me this long to find!"

"Are you sure that it'll take us to Swanville? Not, like, London?" I asked.

"Yep. Swanville" he said.

"How do you know?" Hey, I had reason to be skeptical.

"Falco tested it. He was willing to risk his life for us".

That was a little bit of a heavy thought, but I didn't let it claim me too much. I strode through the square, Lucas's hand in mine.

* * *

I found myself on a field on Earth. Almost immediately, I began to feel slightly nauseous, but I soon found that if I focused on the horizon, I would feel a lot better.

Lucas got to his feet a little away from me, rubbing his hands on his pants in order to get the dirt off of them. "We're here" he said.

I looked around. Sure enough, it was the park from Swanville, Maine, the small Waldo County town that both of us had grown up in. It was isolated. Some might even have called it boring. But, personally, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Lucas spread the blanket on the ground. It was a beautiful yellow color that brought to mind late summer. Now that I was looking at him, without all of the trappings of illness, he seemed a lot healthier and happier, more lighthearted.

"What do you think we'll do about our parents?" I asked him.

Lucas looked up at the sky, careful not to look at the sun. "I don't know, but we'll figure it out when the time comes. We could actually come and visit them right now if you'd like".

"Let's have lunch first" I said. "I'm pretty hungry, even though I just had breakfast with Ian".

"It's cool" he said, opening the picnic basket. In it, I saw that there was a card with my name on it. It was a simple piece of paper, folded in half, with the word OPEN on it, with an arrow telling me to open it in that direction.

"Well, open it" he said.

I unfolded the piece of paper and read the words.

 _Willow Foster,_

 _I've been apart from you for longer than I would ever have wanted. Now that we are back together, I really do love you. I'm sorry that two of our friends died on your ACTUAL birthday, but happy belated 17th._

 _Love, Lucas Z. Enfield_

"That's too sweet, Lucas, that really is" I said.

"'S no problem" he said, already taking a bite out of an apple. "I was being completely genuine. I love you, Willow, I really do".

And, unlike I had once before, I had no trouble in believing him. As we ate our sandwiches, followed by a blue-frosted yellow cake, I believed it more and more.

* * *

 **IAN'S POV**

After eating breakfast with Willow, I decided to go and visit the laboratory that I worked at. I saw that it was closed, so I elected to go for a walk along the avenue. I needed to get some things sorted out.

I still didn't know how I had ended up on Corneria, but I would find answers in due time. At least, I really hoped that I would. Maybe that was the same thing, although I seriously doubted it. I would have to actively seek answers.

For now, I'd just try to settle down into my new job. I wouldn't have to worry about money any more; the pension I was being given for my military service would be more than enough to work with.

As I saw the sun near its zenith, I appreciated just how lucky I was to be alive. After so many dangers that had presented themselves, one by one, over the course of the last eight months, I could finally live my life.

The future was looking very bright indeed.

* * *

 **And that is a wrap on the Wing And A Scare trilogy. At least the main part; there's still an epilogue after this.**

 **I would like to analyze all of the character arcs, like I often have.**

 **RIP Konstantin and Cole.**

 **Konstantin: He really did have a great story. He went from having such a bright future in Texas to getting whisked off to the flight academy, effectively meaning that he couldn't live a normal life. After his little patriotic stunt, he was imprisoned and had to be saved by the others. I really liked how he turned from this into an esteemed military commander, and he really did get a lot of credit. That he deserved. He was so motivated by revenge, however, that he killed Wolf. And it wasn't just that, too. His desire for revenge cost him his OWN life as well, since Andross had created that automaton just for him. I don't believe in heaven, but I would hope that, if there is one, Konstantin would be there. Sorry that your life kind of sucked, Konstantin.**

 **Cole: I think that Cole is one of the more interesting characters. He has a lot more flaws than Konstantin, but that's what makes him so interesting to write and read about. He might have been a juvenile delinquent, but I feel that he realized the error of his ways and began to help Corneria. One of the reasons I killed him was that his creator, Singlewave, was also the creator of the winning tribute of Lorax: The 64th Hunger Games, and he doesn't get to have TWO characters survive my stories (Just kidding). Seriously, I just wanted to make the ending as semi-tragic as possible. But, beyond that, I really did enjoy Cole.**

 **Ian: I've become great friends with Cosmicsafe74, and we even video-chatted some. It was pretty awesome, and so was this guy. I enjoyed writing for Ian in this last book, as he became a scientist. I really did feel like this was a fitting job for him. And, the best part about Ian? He's still alive, meaning that he's going to be a Cornerian scientist for many years to come. I really want to thank the creator for his amazing character, and thank Ian for helping to defeat Andross.**

 **Willow: Peyton still hasn't read and reviewed most of this trilogy. Which, really, isn't that bad. But I LOVE Willow. She was such a fitting partner for Lucas, and I loved writing how she grew to mistrust him because of what happened to Jack. However, she's really a good person, and I'll miss her for sure. She IS still alive, though.**

 **Lucas: The main character of this story had such a great plotline, in my opinion, that it's hard for me to articulate. I guess I'll share some more thoughts below.**

 **The Wing And A Scare series was, by and large, a form of escape for me. What I mean is that I started with having just come off of Lorax, a project I didn't ENTIRELY enjoy, and I liked the freedom it brought. But I also liked to put my own struggles with Asperger's and OCD on a main character that also had those traits. I didn't realize this at first, but the more my therapist pointed that out, the more I started to believe it was plausible.**

 **While the series itself was not as successful as I would have LIKED, it still was enjoyable to write for much of the time. I want to thank everybody who has read and reviewed everything in this series.**

 **~~SnowLucario~~**


	15. Epilogue: Thirteen Years Later

**This is it; the final chapter of the Wing And A Scare trilogy. I hope you enjoy, and, as the title suggests, it takes place 13 years after the main event.**

 **This chapter is narrated in the present tense, just like a lot of young adult trilogies. I hope that I, a 17-year-old, have created a decent YA trilogy of my own. With that in mind, let's get into the chapter!**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

Thirteen years.

That is how much time has passed since the war against Andross. Mostly, all has been well. There were all of the usual issues plaguing Corneria, but they were fairly minor compared to what they had just gone through.

After Andross was gone, I went back to my old job as President Of Corneria. I didn't enjoy it too much, however. For me, nothing could equal the adrenaline of being a pilot, and I was getting sick of sitting behind a desk. After death had come so close to claiming me, and had _actually_ claimed two of my friends, I wasn't eager to continue this. I was only seventeen years old, and surely there was someone older who would be more fit.

And so, three months after returning, I resigned my position. I moved back into the same apartment that I had had as Vice President, but this time Falco and Dr. Howler did not move in with me. This had actually been at my request, because I didn't want to have to constantly be looked after. Granted, I was okay either way, but I'd had enough of the Bengal tiger always hovering over me, ready to assist if I woke up vomiting in the middle of the night.

Despite this, my apartment soon became lonely. I was sick of waking up to only the sounds of the harbor and the city, and I wanted human company more. It seemed as though I had traded one bad deal for another.

Thank goodness for Willow Foster.

After a few weeks of living like this, I saw her once again. She was still Secretary Of State, now serving under Maisie Johnson. She was looking just as beautiful as she always had, and I mourned the fact that I was no longer able to spend as much time with her. I didn't want to grow apart again. Not after everything that had happened between us.

I invited Willow in for hot chocolate, during which we talked about how the last several weeks had been going. Seeing how lonely I was, now that I was no longer meeting with her regularly, she told me that she was going to move in with me.

We didn't sleep in the same bed, but after three more years of dating, by which time both of us were 21 years old, I was able to get permission from Willow's parents to take her hand in marriage. We got engaged, and, a year later, we got married.

A year later, she bore me a son. We named him Cole Konstantin Enfield, after our two fallen friends. Ian had visited Willow in the hospital after the birth, and had wanted to have Ian or Keller put into the name somewhere, but we both said no. We wanted to honor those who had died first.

Not two years later, we had another boy. This time, I was happy to name him Ian Keller Enfield, after our scientist friend. Willow was also willing to do it, so that was what was going to happen.

Over the next few years, we would often call Ian Enfield Ian Junior because of this. Eventually, he did get that there was also an Ian Senior, whom we had named him after. Really, it went a lot better than could be expected.

Willow and I spent most of our time in Corneria, but, whenever we wanted to return to Swanville, we could always go back to the Green House and take the portal to the park. Then, we'd visit my aging parents, and we occasionally helped out. Cornerian money could be exchanged for human money, so we helped get my mother through a bout with breast cancer, which was thankfully caught early. We were able to afford the very best medical treatment.

Now, my mother is healthy again. My father's also doing pretty well, and they have started to feel better about their actions. I, for the most part, have forgiven them, but I don't always give them an easy time about it. We remain on very good terms with Willow's mother and stepfather, as well.

* * *

It's been thirteen years since that final battle on Venom. In fact, it's been _exactly_ 13 years since then. Willow and I have settled down in a nice, large house on the outskirts of Corneria City, only a twenty-minute walk from the Green House. Cole and Ian Jr. are also doing well.

As I sit in my study, I remember that today is Willow's 30th birthday. August 14, 203R is the date. I know that she's expecting something from me, but I don't know if she'd be happy to know what.

I process the tickets online, typing like a maniac. I took a typing test, and I can write at 65 words per minute. Of course, I'm being a little more careful right now. What I'm doing requires precision.

Booking the tour under the name Lucas Z. Enfield, I make sure that the money comes from _my_ bank account. Even though we're now together, our parents would only agree to us getting married so young if we kept our accounts separate. Probably they expected us to get divorced, but there have been no signs of that yet.

Willow's going to be shocked at my plan. It's an ice-climbing tour of the Cornerian glaciers, something I know might bring back memories for her. Not good ones. I'm paying for it with my own money, a substantial amount is in the bank due to our pensions. In the thirteen years since the war, three movies have been made out of our story: _Wing And A Scare, Attack Of The Anglars,_ and _Rise Of The Enemy._

The movies scored big in the box offices, both on Corneria and in the United States. We were given 5.5% of the movie profits, or about eleven million dollars. As a result, this tour is quite trivial in terms of my finances.

It's time for my wife to overcome her fear of ice climbing. Not only that, but I see Cole in the hallway outside the office, with Tigre Howler right behind. I paid her to babysit Cole and Ian Jr., so that we could go on this trip.

"Good morning, Mr. Enfield" Dr. Howler says.

"You can call me Lucas" I tell her. "Cole, this is Tigre. She's going to watch over you today. Willow and I are going out".

"Where?" Cole asks.

"We're going out" I repeat. I hold out a silver disc, with WING AND A SCARE written on it. "You're going to stay here with Tigre and watch some movies".

"Yay! I love movies!" my son says.

Ian Jr. comes in, and, upon hearing that he's going to stay here while his mommy and daddy go on a trip, is a little disappointed. That is, until Dr. Howler mentions the movie.

"Let me go get Willow, and we'll say our goodbyes" I said.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, my wife and I are standing on the helipad next to the ocean. My physician is watching my children, and Willow is right next to me.

And I look into her eyes. My first love, and my last. We're going on a surprise trip up to the glacier, and she doesn't know that it's her birthday present.

"Where are you taking me for my thirtieth birthday?" she asks me.

I want to keep it from her for as long as possible. "It's a surprise" I say to her evasively.

We get on the chopper that lands for us. Since I told the pilot not to tell Willow where we were going, he doesn't say it. We lift up into the air and head towards the mountains.

"Seriously...where are we going?" she says once again.

As the chopper climbs towards the glacier, I can hide it from her no longer. "We're going ice climbing".

I see her turn pale, and then look slightly angry. "Is there a particular reason?"

I still want to be evasive, so I don't say anything more.

* * *

 **WILLOW'S POV**

What is Lucas thinking? He _knows_ I've never been a fan of ice climbing. Even back in Maine, I never had a chance to, and once I had begun my new life in the Lylat System I wanted to even less.

The last time I'd gone on the glaciers with Lucas, he'd been unconscious and had a body temperature of 88, due to being trapped underneath the glacier for fifteen hours. They'd gone there on a mission to defuse a bomb, which had ended up going off when they were on the glacier.

Now, he is taking me on a _trip_ here. For fun. I figure that would be considered grounds for divorce just about anywhere.

By the time we reach the glacier, I'm sweating despite the cold air. The instructor, once we are out of the chopper, shows us how to work our harnesses and attach them to the fixed line that goes up the glacier.

" _This_ is your idea for a Dirty 30 party?" I ask him somewhat angrily.

He shrugs. "I thought you'd like it".

"Whatever" I say. Despite my nervousness, I clip myself into the fixed line. If I fall into a hidden crevasse, the rope will arrest my fall, and Lucas and the instructor will be able to get me back up.

We eventually get onto our knees and begin making our way up the glacier. I can't believe that Lucas did this all those years ago. My knees quickly become cold and wet, but I continue onwards. Eventually, we reach a chasm.

"I don't think I can do this, Lucas" I tell him.

My husband looks back at me. "Willow, you told me that you'd never be afraid of heights".

"I never did".

"No. It's a metaphor. You were never afraid of a commitment in our relationship. I mean, really. I love you, you know that?"

In spite of all of this, I still love him. "I'll do it" I said. "Next year, though, a simple cake will do".

"Oh, Dr. Howler's making a cake back at the apartment" he says.

"She is?" I ask, nearly toppling into the crevasse.

"Yep".

We continue up the glacier until the instructor says it's time to go back down. As we reach the helicopter, I think about how much Lucas must either love me or hate me, for him to be doing this.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

It appears that Dr. Howler took good care of Cole and Ian Jr.. When we get back, she's baked a large yellow cake for us, and she has invited Falco Lombardi to be with her and us. It truly looks like it'll be a great party.

Cole looks up at me. Even though he's only 4'8" right now, he'll likely take over his father one day, just like I did mine. I find the idea horrifying, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"Those were awesome movies!" he says.

"They're based on true stories, Cole. Come into the back room. We'll tell you more about the stories".

"Whose stories?" Cole asks. He really doesn't get it.

Willow laughs. "Ours, Cole. This is how your parents got together. That's _us_ in the movies?"

"And Cole and Konstantin? Was I...".

"Come in" I say. "We have a lot to talk about".


End file.
